An Eternity of Words
by APerfectWorldFullOfLove
Summary: Time Travel. Hermione is sent back through time to when the Marauders were around and falls for the snarkiest guy on the planet, Severus Snape whilst trying to defeat evil demons attempting to steal her soul. Her world will never be the same. M for later. ABANDONED.
1. Chapter 1

Seventh year for Hermione Granger was the best thing that could happen to her. After the war all of the seventh years had been granted permission to go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to relearn their NEWTS due to the stress put on them for the last year. Minerva McGonagall was continuing to be the Headmistress for the school and was delighted that Hermione had come back. Of course in her heart she had known she would come back as Hermione could never get away from studying and learning new things. It was currently the 2nd week of September and Hermione had gone to sleep early as her dreams were full of nightmares.

_"You're the brightest witch of your age. If you're that smart why didn't you save us from dying? You're worthless!" Sirius scowled and glared at her._

_"I tried the best I could! I-I'm sorry!" Hermione cried._

_"You're best was never good enough! Who's going to take of Teddy now? It's all your fault!" Remus shouted at her._

_"We'll take care of him! I promise! I never meant for you to die!"_

_"Who's we, little girl? Everyone's deserted you, your friends have gone on without you and my little brother could barely stand the sight of you. Remember how he dumped you? Publicly, humiliatingly!" Fred smirked._

_Hermione watched the flashback as Ron snogged Lavender Brown in the Great Hall and Hermione with tears in her eyes._

_"Guess you weren't good enough Hermione. Lavender is everything you're not. Beautiful, sexy and kind." Ron smirked like Fred did and the flashback ended._

_"No! I can be what you want Ron! Give me another chance!" Hermione slid down to the floor and buried her face in her hands as she heard the screams of the dying around her. "No, none of you are real, this is just a dream!" As Hermione looked up a wall of fire burst towards her. "NOOOOOO!"_

Hermione jerked awake and held her wand out at the ready. "Just a dream." she whispered and the words danced in front of her. As if taunting her that it maybe wasn't a dream but what hell would be like. Hermione knew she wouldn't be able to sleep for awhile so decided to go to the common room to warm herself up by the fire. However as she got to the top of the landing she saw that the fire was lit though she couldn't see anyone.

"Harry?"  
>Hermione slowly walked down the common room stairs and towards the fire that was burning.<p>

"Who's down here?"

Hermione wasn't afraid. During the war she had faced dangerous monsters, death eaters and evil things so that now that it was finally over she felt like she had nothing to fear. Unfortunately even though Hermione was usually right, she was wrong this time round.

"I'm being foolish. No-one's down here." she muttered to herself.

She strode over to the fireplace and gazed down into the flames. They were slowly dying, the soft red glow gently caressing the coals with abandoned delight and the soft flames crumbling down into ash. She sighed as she looked at the flames, her mind was starting to feel warm and fuzzy and she knew that if she only stayed here for a few minutes she would be able to go to sleepy peacefully. As she was starting to droop, two dark red eyes stared at her from the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

The glowing red eyes narrowed at the girl falling asleep on the floor. _Is that Hermione Granger?_ Boris looked towards the ceiling and tried to think of what the Granger girl looked like. Bushy hair, buck teeth and frumpy was all he could think of. He looked towards the girl again. Smooth hair, straight teeth and curvy. _Can't be then._ Boris came out from the shadows and looked around to see if anyone was watching. _I better check just in case._

"Doris!" he hissed, watching out for where his partner would come from. "Doris, you fat arsed excuse of a demon, you better not be eating their clothes again!"

Doris hesitantly came out of the shadows. "Tis not my fault they taste so yummy, Boris and stop calling me that or you'll get no sex for a week!" she growled angrily.

"Oh but Doris, you know I'm only teasing," he whined "have you checked to see if anyone's awake?"

"No-one."

Both demons had drawn out of the shadows and were facing the girl on the floor. The demons looked grotesque, even from a distance. Their flabby skin was purple and looked as though the fat upon them had sunk towards the ground and was now built up across their stomachs and feet. They wore tunics; similar to how Dobby wore his, their purple feet had yellowing nails that were 5 cm long as were their claws. But that wasn't the most grotesque part. The most grotesque part was when the demons began to move around and their flabby skin swayed across their bodies, almost like they were wings. Anyone that looked at them couldn't keep their lunch.

"Who's that?" Doris asked.

"Some Gryffindor seventh year, her soul is very pure so that master will be very pleased." he grinned manically.

Doris moved in closer and peered at her face.

"You dunderhead, that's Hermione Granger! We've hit the jackpot!" she grinned and started dancing around the room. Or more acurately, wobbling around it.

"No it's not," Boris replied in a bored voice "Granger is frumpy and ugly."

"Yes it is! Don't you ever read wizard magazines? She's been called the Gryffindor Princess!" Doris said excitedly.

"Oh," Boris scowled "anyway it doesn't matter who she is, her soul is pure and we'll have to take it back."

"Of course we will but we should check if she has anything valuable on her person."

The two demons crouched over the sleeping girl and gently took off her dressing gown. Fortunately she had a pyjamas on so she still had her dignity intact.

"Ooh, such a pretty necklace!" Doris whispered whilst gazing at the time turner.

"Wait, you imbecile, it might put a curse on you!" Boris scowled at her, "we have to check first."

Boris raise a thick finger and pointed it at the necklace. Purple dust flew from his finger and put the necklace inside a mini tornado.

"You're doing something wrong!" Doris cried as she watched a rainbow of colours flood around the room. She reached out towards the necklace and tried to stop Boris from performing his magic.

"Get away, Doris you're ruining it!" he hissed and watched as the tornado got larger. Doris stood up and growled at Boris. With a single leap she threw herself at Boris to distract him from his magic. As the two demons grappled across the floor, Hermione was sucked into the vortex and the two demons were being slowly dragged across the floor. With a final cry, both Boris and Doris were swept into the tornado and it magically disappeared leaving the time turner in its wake.


	3. Chapter 3

"Is she breathing?" a whisper spoke.

"I can't find a pulse!" whispered another.

"Stand aside! I'll give her the kiss of life!"

"More like the kiss of death." another muttered.

"Shut up Remus, we all know your morning breath stinks!"

Hermione was laid out across the common room couch and could hear everything. The word 'kiss' made her grow pale and she desperately tried to open her eyes. Whoever had said they couldn't find her pulse was obviously an idiot as they were pushing down on the wrong section of her wrist. With growing dread she struggled weakly against the darkness behind her eyes. She prayed that it wasn't Ron because she couldn't face up to him after the horrible break up. All too soon she heard a rustle of robes beside her. Her nose was pinched, her mouth opened and before she could do anything lips were upon hers. Strangely they tasted strawberry and for a brief, terrible moment she thought she could feel someones tongue. With a start she jerked forward and collided with the boy's head.

"Ow!" the boy shouted and fell onto the floor.

Hermione moaned and clutched her head. The room was swirling around her and she tried to get a grip on her surroundings. She looked up and saw Harry looking down at her. "A little help?" she scowled and stretched out her hand so Harry could take it.

"In a second, princess, first you can tell us who you are."

Hermione turned around and watched as a boy with a black shaggy haircut raised an eyebrow at her. He was well built and his grey eyes stood out against his tanned complexion.

"Can I ask why your lips taste of strawberry and why you thought you could get some action whilst I was unconcious?"

"Not again Sirius! For gods sake, stop raiding my make-up."

"Mate, you never take advantage of a girl when she's out of it!"

Hermione watched as a girl with flowing red hair, bright green eyes and a pale complexion scowled at the boy she had called Sirius. _Wait... Sirius? And who was the boy next to her? It looks an awful lot like Harry..._

"Excuse me? You're Sirius Black?" Hermione's mind boggled at the implications. _It couldn't be, something has gone terribly wrong._

"The one and only," he stood a proud pose and gave a wolfish smile to her "my reputation proceeds me!"

"Oh dear." Hermione's eyes rolled towards the back of her head and welcomed the darkness.

* * *

><p>When Hermione next woke she found herself in the Hospital Wing and it was growing dark. She found comfort in watching the stars shine brightly so she got out of bed and padded to the window.<p>

"Young lady, you should not be out of bed! You've had a bad experience with demon magic and must rest for the remainder of the evening. Now get back into bed!"

Hermione turned around and watched as a younger version of Madam Pomfrey come into the wing. _Did she take an anti-aging potion? _Hermione stopped her thoughts as she was being quite rude to a teached who had helped her when she most needed it (turning into a cat is never easy). _I'm sure there is a decent explanation. _But now that she though about it how could she explain strangers in the common room? How could she explain Madam Pomfrey looking younger?_It must be a dream. _Hermione looked again towards Madam Pomfrey who had gone into her office and was head banging to rock music. _A really weird dream _she said to herself. Still looking at Madam Pomfrey oddly she went back to her bed and quielty went back to sleep. _Surely it won't be the same tomorrow._


	4. Chapter 4

Her nightmare started the same way it usually did:

_"Filthy mudblood, can't save your friends? Can't save your parents? I always knew you were such a loser." Draco circled her as though she was his prey._

_"Why Hermione? Why couldn't you save Fred? I thought you could do anything, I hate you!" George had joined in and was screaming at her with tears in his eyes._

_"Shut up!" Hermione shouted. She closed her eyes and covered her ears but she couldn't stop the voices because they were inside her head._

_"Look at your proud gryffindor bravery now, you're ruined, no-one will ever want you again and you'll be all alone with no-one!" Draco smirked._

_Hermione's head felt like a million dwarves were mining inside her head and she desperately tried to stop the voices._

_"You're not real. You're not real. You're not real!" She repeated the mantra over and over again._

_"Keep telling that to yourself princess." Sirius grinned like a maniac and then they all started chanting._

_"Failure! Failure! Failure!"_

She woke up screaming. Her limbs thrashed against the duvet and her body was twisting left and right as though she were fighting an unseen enemy. Hands grabbed her and she immediately struggled. Using her nails she scratched and clawed at anything she could get her hands on, thinking that the demons had come to life. Closing her eyes she tried to wish them away and pretend that they weren't there.

"Calm yourself child, you will find that no-one wishes to harm you here."

Hermione opened her eyes. Her breathing was laboured and she struggled to calm down. She drew in large breaths and reached out for a glass of water.

"Are you quite alright, my dear?"

Her chocolate eyes fixed on blue twinkling ones.

"Oh Professor!" Hermione cried and rushed up to embrace Professor Dumbledore. "Thank merlin you're here! I was having this terrible dream where everyone was young and no-one knew me!"

She suddenly collected herself and remembered who she was hugging. With a start, she drew back and looked at his face. His gleaming blue eyes shone behind his half moon spectacles and his face had a certain youthness to it. He still wore his signature purple robes and his beard didn't look as long as it was when he died. His face didn't have as many wrinkles and the shadows of death and destruction weren't so deep in his eyes.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

Professor Dumbledore looked at her with a peculiar gaze and she suddenly wished she hadn't said that.

"Dead? Why I'm still at the pinacle of my youth my child, why on earth would you think I was dead?" he asked politely.

Again Hermione couldn't stop her mouth. "But you were cast with the killing curse and fell from the astronomy tower!"

"That's quite troubling." His brow furrowed but he still had an amused smile on. "Could you tell me which year it is?"

"It doesn't matter sir, it's quite obvious I'm still in my dream." She looked down sadly and wished that the horror would come to an end. Professor Dumbledore was like a grandfather to her and for her mind to give her this torture... it scarred deep in her heart.

"My dear girl, I do not think you are dreaming. This is the year 1976 and I have a feeling that you aren't meant to be here."

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude but that can't be what's happened. Time Travel isn't possible and the year can't be 1976. It's 1998!"

"I assure you, it isn't. Now tell me your name."

"Hermione Granger."

"Ah," Professor Dumble said with his blue eyes twinkling "perhaps if I give you the Daily Prophet, you'll realise that you are in the wrong era but none the less, we will find a place for you."

"Of course sir, I'm just struggling to find this feasible."

"Very well miss Granger, please hold on a moment and I will find a newspaper for you." With that being said he quickly went into Madam Pomfrey's office as she was coming out.

"How are you feeling today? You must have had an excting day to make you faint like that. Now sit still so I can measure your temperature." Madam Pomfrey did a quick spell and Hermione felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dunked over her head.

"You seem to be right as rain, with luck I can discharge you as soon as you feel you are ready to go." Madam Pomfrey smiled at her and went back to her office.

_She doesn't seem as grouchy today. Maybe it really is the year 1976! How did I get here though?_

* * *

><p>Meanwhile Boris and Doris were having an argument.<p>

"I can't believe you lost her!" Doris shouted.

"I lost her? It was your fat ass that collided with me! If you hadn't squashed me with it, I wouldn't have lost control of the spell!" Boris screamed back at her.

"Oh, so it's my fault now is it? I could tell as soon as you started your magic, that it wouldn't work! Now you've landed us in the wrong bloody year!"

"Shut up! We have to find the girl before the master finds out we don't have a soul for him or he'll cook us both!"

"Forget the girl! We have to find a way to get back!" Doris snapped.

"She's the purest soul we've seen and you want to forget it? No, we will find the girl and then the master will be able to give us the prize!"

"Y-you mean the...?" she trailed off and looked off into space.

"Yes," Boris sighed dreamily " the toy chicken!"

Doris shuddered in pleasure. "Fine, let us find her quickly and then we can get it!"

"Of course, there is nowhere she can hide now..."

The two demons faded into the shadows and their red eyes gleamed brightly with the promise of a soul.


	5. Chapter 5

Professor Dumbledore quickly came back with an edition of the Daily Prophet.

"My dear, this may come as a terrible shock so please brace yourself." With those words he gently placed the newspaper into her hands and with his blue eyes twinkling watched for her reaction.

Hermione hesitantly cast her gaze down onto the paper and looked at the year.

It did indeed say the year was 1976.

Hermione thought for a moment about everything in 1976. _Ok, I'm in the Marauders seventh year, Professor Dumbledore is still alive, Professor Snape is still alive and so is Siri- wait, Professor Snape!_

"Sir?" Hermione looked up towards Professor Dumbledore ready for a rebuke.

"Yes my dear, what is it?" he smiled and waited for whatever was troubling her.

"How am I supposed to get back to my time?"

"Well I'm afraid that there may be a little bit of trouble there but do not worry yourself, I will make sure that you can get back."

"Thankyou sir. Is it possible that I can stay in school in the meantime? I'm a good student and I won't get into any trouble." she hastenly added, she knew that the Marauders were terrible pranksters and she wanted to assure him that she wouldn't be any part of it. _Atleast for the mean time_ she mischeviously thought to herself. No doubt she would be influenced by them but she wouldn't let herself take part in any harmful jokes, only funny ones.

"I'm sure there will be no problem my dear, I will alert the staff as to what has happened and of course with our combined forces we ought to get you home faster. You have a room waiting for you at gryffindor tower so I suggest you go settle in, when you are ready you may owl me with your lessons." Again he smiled and was delighted that such a good student had well manners and a studious mind. She would fit in well with Lily Evans and the Marauders. Of course, he would be prepared for the adventures and love he could foretell from the girl. _Severus Snape, the lucky sod..._ he was already grinning at the thought.

"Um sir? I don't have anything with me apart from my robes and nightgown." She blushed at the thought. If she went back to gryffindor tower wearing nothing but a nightgown Sirius was sure to make a pass at her and with her luck he'd be wearing his cherry chapstick again.

"How thoughtless of me, I will provide you with funds and you may buy your provisions in Hogsmeade, just wait for Professor McGonagall and I'm sure she'd be delighted to accompany you."

Just as he spoke Professor McGonagall came through the doorway.

Hermione stared openmouthed at her Professor. Minerva McGonagall was wearing a pale yellow summer dress that stopped at her knees, she wore small high heels that were white and her hair was flowing to her shoulders.

"Professor?" she gasped.

Immediately the 50 year old woman looked at her. Minerva squealed and bounced her way to Hermione and Professor Dumbledore like a rabbit.

"Oh my poor, sweet, little angel! You must be so scared right now but don't worry, I'll be your guardian for however long you need me!"

Hermione struggled to take this all in as when Minerva reached her she was swept into a giant bear hug and her professor was clasping her to her bosom.

"Can't... breathe!"

"Oh gods sorry, sometimes I get a little carried away." Minerva now looked like a lost puppy that had lost her favourite ball.

"It's fine Minerva, Hermione needs to go to Hogsmeade to get provisions so I'd like you to go with her." Professor Dumbledore intervened.

Suddenly Minerva sprang up and grabbed Hermione's hand.

"Of course! First you need to get out of the nightgown otherwise people will be giving us funny looks!" she giggled.

Professor McGonagall transfigured Hermione's nightgown into a pale blue halter neck dress with a belt clasped around her waist.

"Perfect!" Minerva cried and grabbed Hermione again. "Off we go!" and she ran with Hermione towards Hogsmeade.

"Ok, what shall we get first? Would you prefer it if we do clothes first? Or would you rather we go for books?"

Hermione looked at her professor. She had certainly changed, she was calm and collected in the future but now she seemed jumpy and out of control.

"Maybe we should do clothes first.."

They found their way into Gladrags Wizardwear where Hermione bought several new dresses (dresses were the usual style then), 10 tops and a few pairs of trousers. Before she could get away Minerva had dragged her over to the lingerie.

"Now, I would guess that you're about a C cup," Minerva picked up a dark blue bra and looked towards Hermione.

Usually Hermione would deny that Professor McGonagall was staring at her breasts but this wasn't the usual Minerva and Hermione felt embarassed. This increased ten fold when Minerva placed the bra on her chest.

"Hmmm, it seems about right." Minerva said thoughtfully.

Hermione was outraged and pushed away the bra and Minerva politely. "I can decide which bra I want for myself thankyou, Professor."

Minerva's smile faded and her lower lip began to tremble. "I-I'm sorry, I do tend to get carried away don't I? I'm sorry, I shan't bother you anymore." Minerva turned away and started towards a different section of the store.

Hermone groaned and looked towards the ceiling.

"Minerva," the name tasted odd on her lips "I'd love for you to stay here, it's just that bras are a personal thing for me and I'm feeling out of sorts here. I'd like it if you helped me pick out socks though."

With a squeal Minerva rushed back and hugged Hermione. Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled with amusement. _She's really a lot of fun..._

Once they had finished in Gladrags they made there way over to Dervish and Banges. Hermione needed a new owl so she could send messages to Professor Dumbledore. As she walked into the shop she saw a beautiful grey one with ocean blue eyes. It ruffled it's feathers at her and she knew immediately that this was the one she was getting. Later on as she walked out of the shop she struggle to think of what to call him. Minerva seeing her dilemna decided to help but recommending names which didn't really help at all.

"Candyfloss?"

"No."

"Bubbles?"

"No."

"Periwinkle?"

"No."

"Lilo?"

"No."

"Shade?"

"N- wait? Shade?" Hermione looked at Minerva shocked.

"I know, it's silly. How about Bluebell?"

"It's perfect!" Hermione cried and hugged Minerva.

"You want Bluebell?" Minerva looked at her like she'd gone insane.

"No, I meant Shade." Hermione laughed and it felt good to her as she hadn't laughed in a long time.

Arm in arm, the two friends went around the rest of the shops to get everything else she needed. After they had finished Minerva raced her back to Hogwarts and so they had fun chasing each other and Hermione had never felt so carefree. _I'm going to like it here_ she thought with a smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Severus Snape (the lucky sod) was sneaking through the castle towards the Room of Requirement. It was there that his thirst for creativity was quenched and could have fun with his new spells and improved potions. On his way, he was dreaming of castrating Sirius Black and humiliating him in front of the entire school in evil dispicable ways. It was as he was day dreaming he failed to see who was in front of him.

"Oof."

They both collided and were sent sprawling to the floor. They both stood up as gracefully as they could and faced each other.

"Watch where you're going!" they both said at once.

Severus glared at the stupid female in front of him. He couldn't see her house badge and all he could see was a darkened face illuminated in the moonlight.

"Stupid girl, you should be hexed." Severus sneered at her.

Hermione had been in a good mood. She had enjoyed the day with Professor McGonagall and this brat had destroyed her mood with a few words. She couldn't see his house badge as they were in a darkened part of the seventh floor so all she could see was short black hair gently reaching to his neck.

"Try it and you'll see what happens." she snapped back.

Severus knew that no-one could out duel him unless it was a cheap dirty trick like the Marauders continuously did. _I have to teach this girl a lesson _he thought maliciously. If he didn't keep his image up then the Marauders would find more things to ridicule him with.

He whispered softly "Aguamenti."

Hermione gasped as water poured over her head and down her body.

Severus smirked as he watched her splutter and attempt to dry herself off. Now he could see her more clearly. She had defining curves and he could see an outline of a dark bra against her breasts. _Wow _he thought. _How have I not noticed her before?_

Hermione was incredibly riled up which caused her logic to fly through the window of her brain which what she did next was silly.

"Moustachio!" she cried.

Severus had never heard of this spell before so cast a simple protego so that it couldn't get to him. Unfortunately for him, she had created the curse when Ron was constantly badgering her about completing his homework so the spell passed through his shield and hit him.

He felt an odd tingling above his lips and when he looked down his nose he saw a black moustache that was thick and curled at the edges.

Severus jumped and hastenly tried to take it off but nothing happened.

Hermione started laughing as she noticed him trying to take it off and was grinning at him. She cast Tergeo at herself and watched as she dried from toe to head.

"I hope you enjoyed that interlude, now if you don't mind I'm going to bed." she smiled at him and started sauntering off.

Severus hated to ask but he couldn't walk into the Slytherin Common room with a moustache. No-one would say anything but he'd be talked about behind his back which he hated even more. "Wait," he said quietly "how do I take it off?"

Hermione paused at the end of the corridor and turned around. She could barely see him through the darkness but she could see that he was lean and a few inches taller than her. Deciding to help the poor guy she quickly cast the counter spell and it immediately disappeared. "Just a thanks for amusing me, try it again and I might not be so helpful." she smirked at him.

Severus found that his lips wanted to smile and quickly made them scowl. "Wait till I get my revenge witch, I'd watch my back if I were you." he smirked at her and walked away. As he was at the end of the corridor he heard a reply so faint he thought he'd imagined it.

"Let the games begin."


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione was for the first time in many months worried. She had no idea what kind of reception she'd recieve in the Gryffindor common room. Her worst worry was that everyone would ask her questions about what/where/who in her past. She had nothing solid to put a base on and Professor Dumbledore had told her to say that she was Hermione Granger, an exchange student from Crawford's School for Witches in Dublin. _I can work with this _she thought patiently. _I don't have an irish accent because... I was raised by houselves to speak proper english. What are the houselves names? Oh well.. um.. Binky and Dinky? No.. Pinky and Brain! Perfect. Where are my parents? _Hermione stopped cold and looked down towards her shoes whilst trying to hold back tears. _They're dead. Ok, moving on to a happier topic... what's my favourite lesson? Easy - Transfiguration. I can do this!_

Hermione realised that she had gotten to the Fat Lady's painting and the Fat Lady was looking at her oddly.

"Should you be here, young lady?"

The Fat Lady's voice was gravelly and caused Hermione to wince.

"Yes, I should be, the password is Wronklehorn."

The painting looked at her suspiciously. "Very well." She took one last scrutinising look at the girl and opened the portrait.

Hermione held her head high and purposefully walked in only to find the entire seventh year of Gryffindors looking at her. She faltered in her step and looked around the room.

Everything was much the same: the carpet was a rich red that spread across the entire floor, the walls were a startling cream full of brickwork, the rug before the fireplace still had the house's logo of a lion printed across it and the dark red sofas were sprinkled around the room.

Everyone was still looking at her. _I can't do this _she thought miserably. Just as she thought that no-one would give her a welcoming smile a red haired young woman came to stand before her.

"Hello again." she said quietly.

Hermione stared at her as she realised yet again who this was. Lily Evans - Harry's mother. Hermione knew she was pretty from the photos that Harry had shown her but nothing could have compared to her face to face. Her fiery hair fell down to below her shoulders and her jade green eyes sparkled back at the chocolately ones of Hermione's. She was above average height and looked as though she were very athletic and managed to be curvy at the same time.

"Hi." Hermione quietly said back.

"I know this must seem very strange to you," _you have no idea_ "but don't worry, we're all here to help you. I'm Lily Evans and I'm head girl so if you need any help just ask." Lily smiled and waved a hand so a group of four boys could come closer. "I'm afraid you've met these boys before." Lily grinned wickedly.

"I'm James Potter - you're head boy and again if you need any help come and talk to any of us."

Hermione peered up at him. He was fairly taller than Harry but looked just the same. He looked lean and athletic and appeared to be the right build to be a seeked. His hair was messed up in a way that girls could only describe it as bed hair but all the girls unanimously agreed that on James Potter it looked sexy, his hazel eyes were bright with mischief and shone like a beacon whenever he looked at Lily.  
><em>I have to see if they're together already... <em>This was proven immediately when James put a possessive arm around Lily.

"I'm sure you'll be great friends with my girlfriend although she won't be sleeping in the same room." James grinned and winked at her rakishly.

Lily blushed deeply and elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm afraid he's right, both heads have _seperate_ rooms," she said with a meaningful glance at James "so we won't be in the common room."

Hermione merely said "I see..." and waggled her eyebrows suggestively at her.

The Marauders burst out laughing at seeing Lily's discomfort and Remus gave a gentle shake to Hermione.

"I can tell you'll be one of us in no time," he grinned and took her hand "I am Remus Lupin." He bowed to her hand and kissed it gently.

"Charmed to meet you."Hermione blushed and watched the dashing marauder.

His light brown hair was much the same as when he was older but the front part of his hair was lengthened so they masked his blue stormy eyes. He still looked thin and gaunt slightly - no doubt from his transformations. She could see the bravery and intelligence shining in his eyes though.

"This one here's the worst of our lot," Remus leant towards her conspiratedly and whispered "Peter Pettigrew."

"I'm not that bad Remus!" Peter cried and gave Remus a light punch.

"Did you just punch me, Peter?" Remus gave a growl and pounced on the younger wizard.

"No, stop, please!" Peter gasped as he was being thoroughly tickled by both Remus and James.

Hermione looked down at the boy she knew would betray them all. He was still a little chubby and his dirty blonde hair was thick and bushy, similar to that of a rats. His eyes were a pale blue and she could see no darkness in them. _Maybe he hasn't turned yet..._

"I, of course, am much worse."

Hermione turned around and looked straight into grey fathomless eyes. His grin was feral and his eyes shone with mischief much like James'.

"I am the one and only Sirius Black." he grinned and tried to intimidate Hermione.

Hermione burst out laughing and watched as a scowl was put on his face. Sirius was much the same as the future one. His black hair was wavy and curled to just above his collar. He was athletic and muscular and he was quite obviously a lady's man.

"It's nice to have met you all, I'm Hermione Granger and if you don't mind I'm going to go to bed, it's been a long day and thankyou for helping me when you first saw me." Hermione looked down and made her way up the staircase.

"No problem!" Remus called.

"See you in the morning princess." Sirius shouted and winked at her.

Hermione just shook her head and went to her bed. She saw another girl next to the one she was going to sleep in and decided to introduce herself. She might as well have another girl friend that was in her common room.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger." she said quietly in case someone was asleep.

"Hi there! I'm Alice Truemance, you're new, aren't you? Don't be afraid, I'm sure we'll be great friends. Do you mind if I keep a little light on? It's just that my boyfriend Frank gave me it and I like watching it till I fall asleep." Alice started out by speaking quickly but as she said Frank's name she said it gently and a dreamy look came onto her face.

"It's fine," Hermione laughed quietly "I'm just going to sleep now."

"Okay then! We'll talk more in the morning. Night!"

Hermione quickly changed into her pyjamas and slithered into her bed. _This doesn't seem bad at all..._


	8. Chapter 8

For the first time in months Hermione found that her dreams contained no nightmares and when she woke up in the morning it was with a smile. It disappeared just as quick as she realised where she was. She didn't want to face reality yet so she threw the covers over her head and pretended that she was in a tent with her parents on their many camping trips to the Lake District.

A high pitched giggle invaded her thoughts and she immediately thought of Lavender.

"Lavender?" she asked timidly.

"Forgotten my name already?"

Hermione peeked from underneath her covers to find Alice looming over her head.

"BOO!" Alice shouted.

"Eeek!" Hermione squealed and ducked under her covers again.

"Gotcha." said Alice happily.

_It's war. _Hermone pushed her covers away and grabbed Alice. "Time for my revenge!" she said in an evil voice.

"Noooooo!" Alice shrieked. She was being hopelessly tickled by Hermione and was writhing on the floor where Hermione had her pinned.

"Ladies, ladies there's no need to fight over me. Both of you can have me."

Both Alice and Hermione looked over towards the doorway. Sirius was stood there with a cocky smile and lust burning in his eyes. He was wearing his pyjamas, a plain red top with white trousers. Two girls grappling on the floor was obviously a turn on for him. Luckily both girls were wearing trousers and strappy tops otherwise they'd be more embarassed. Hermione thought quickly to herself and decided that she had to show Sirius that he wasn't going to get anywhere with either of them.

The two girls thinking the exact same thing slowly started to walk over to him.

"Really, Sirius? You'd be that generous?" Alice sweetly asked with a lace of sarcasm.

"Do you honestly think that you can take both of us at once?" Hermione's voice had deepened and she lightly ran a finger down his arm.

Sirius stupidly thought he had hit the jackpot (even though Alice had a boyfriend but yet again his dick ruled over his head) and his thoughts turned dirtier as he thought about a threesome with the girls. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath so he could steady himself before he tore both their clothes off at once. "Of course, I wouldn't dream of it any other way." he smirked and thought of telling James that the new girl was a vixen.

Seeing that Sirius had escaped into his imaginary land, both girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes. _He is so easy to fool_ thought both girls at once and they moved closed together so they could whisper.

"I have a plan." whispered Hermione.

"Do tell." Alice whispered back.

Both girls quickly formulated a plan whilst Sirius was dreaming of all three of them together. Breaking apart, both girls grinned evilly and gazed towards Sirius.

Sirius seeing this broke out of his day dream and grinned at both women. "Thought of when ladies?"

"How about now?" Alice asked.

Sirius' eyes widened and his grin got bigger. "I only aim to please." he bowed to both of them and stalked towards Hermione.

"Wait Sirius, you have to stay there."

Both girls walked towards him whilst secretly holding their wands behind their back.

"Evanesco!" they both cried at once, Hermione pointing her wand towards his trousers and Alice towards his top. Sirius' clothes vanished and he was left standing in his boxers. They were a deep red with the words 'I'm too sexy for my boxers' on the left side of his bum. Alice then quickly turned Sirius around whilst Hermione pushed him out of the doorway. Unfortunately when Sirius was on his way to the girls dorm her remembered to perform the spell so that the stairs would remain solid but as he was pushed, he forgot about the spell and the slide activated. He was sent sliding all the way down to the Gryffindor common room.

"Sirius cover up!" Peter shouted whilst covering his eyes.

First year gryffindors shrieked and ran away screaming whilst the seventh year girls were looking at him with interest.

"What happened, mate?" James asked trying to stop from bursting out laughing.

"Girls tricked me." Sirius said sullenly. He noticed the girls watching and cheered up greatly. "Hello ladies, enjoying the view?" he winked at them all.

All of the girls broke into giggles but deciding that he was old news decided to start gossiping again and waiting to tell their friends about what had happened.

"Well I'm going to go and change quickly, I want to be back when Hermione gets down." He ran towards the boy's dorm with a cheerful wave to his friends and a dreamy look on his face.

"He's got it bad, hasn't he Prongs?" Remus asked.

"Indeed he does Moony, he definitely does." James smirked and thought about the ammo he could use to annoy Sirius.

"He's got what bad? Is he ill? I hope he gets better." Peter said worriedly.

"Don't worry Peter, he'll be fine." Remus replied putting an arm around his back.

"Is she here?" Sirius shouted, running back from the dorms.

"That was quick Padfoot." Remus said with a secret smile on his face.

"Is there something wrong with your lips, Sirius?" Peter asked, afraid for his friend.

Sirius mumbled something and ducked his head.

"What?" James said.

"It's chapstick." Sirius said blushing lightly and running a bashful hand through his hair.

"Not again Sirius." Alice said, walking down down the stairs towards them.

"Where's Hermione?" Sirius asked.

Alice took a very long look at him and shrugged her shoulders. Sirius' smile turned into a frown and he plonked himself down on a sofa waiting for her. All of the other Marauders took one look at him and burst out laughing. All of them were clutching their sides and they smiled at him whilst he was confused as to why they were all laughing. _This year is gonna be great _James, Alice and Remus thought.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm glad you're wearing robes now Sirius, god knows what could have happened if you were still in your boxers." Hermione said playfully. She was walking down the girl dormitory stairs and was wearing her school robes with a grey jumper and black skirt underneath.

Sirius scowled as he remembered the prank being played on him and kept an eye on Hermione as she linked arms with Alice. The two girls started whispering to each other and he wondered if they were going to play another prank on him. Hermione looked over toward him and he winked at her and waggled his eyebrows.

"Sirius, are you wearing chapstick again?" Hermione asked with one eyebrow up.

"Cherry flavoured. Want a taste?" he grinned and was sure she would do nothing. He was wrong.

Hermione moved slowly towards him and reached up on to her tiptoes so she could reach his mouth. All of the Marauders and Alice were watching to see what would happen. The Marauders all thought that she was being sincere and would kiss him but Alice having knew the girl and already establishing a deep bond with her could see that she would do something else.

Sirius closed his eyes and waited for Hermione's lips to fall on his.

Instead she licked him.

All of the Marauders burst out laughing and Alice had a smirk on her face. Sirius stood dumbfounded and watched as the girl smacked her lips a few times before turning into a scowl.

"You liar Sirius, it's strawberry flavoured." Hermione shook her head at him as if thinking lying about his chapstick flavour was a great sin. She grabbed Alice and they sauntered off to breakfast.

"That was brilliant." Peter said brightly.

"She's brilliant." Remus smirked at Sirius.

"Isn't she just." Sirius said whilst gazing at the curly haired witch on the right. "Wait up!" he cried and ran after them both. The rest of the Marauders just smirked at each other and ran after their love smitted friend.

* * *

><p>Hermione was waiting anxiously. Professor Dumbledore had found her whilst she was making her way to breakfast and asked if she could be introduced formally so she had to wait until everyone was in the great hall and the headmaster had made his new term speech. The Professor had told her that her name would be called out and she would have to walk in infront of everyone.<p>

Hermione hated being the centre of attention. When Ron had made their break up very public she was talked about for weeks and she couldn't handle the attention. She had eaten every meal in the gryffindor common room and only left it to go to lessons and going to the library to collect more books.

Ron's betrayal had hit her very hard and she was still emotionally scarred. _Maybe staying here isn't a bad idea_ she thought to herself _of course, I'll have to go back, but I wonder if I could stay here a little while..._ For some strange reason, Hermione felt more at home here, maybe it was the chance of having a new life, new friends and having a different view on life. There was no war here apart from Grindenwald and even then it hadn't reached Scotland yet. She would be happy here with no worries. The Marauders were already like family to her and the boy she had met on the way to the common room had seemed like an ideal companion. _I wonder who he is..._

Just then her name was called out and the great hall doors opened so that she could walk through. Taking a quick breath, she put on a smile and walked in front of the entire school.

* * *

><p>Severus Snape enjoyed being alone. Which was why as he sat on the slytherin table he was surrounded by space. That was until Abraxas Malfoy came and sat down next to him.<p>

"Hello again Severus, did you have a pleasant holiday?" Abraxas asked politely.

"Dismal as usual Malfoy."

"Oh well, I'm sure your next holiday will be fun." Abraxas smirked and thought about getting Severus to come over to his house for the holidays. _He could learn a lot from me especially about women._

A light tinkling sound swept through the room and Professor Dumbledore stood up to make his customary speech.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. As usual the forbidden forest is out of bounds to all students as are all the Professor's chambers. Now today I have a special announcement. A new student from Crawford's School for Witches will be joining the seventh years and I want you all to be welcoming. She has had a hard life and I expect all of you to be friendly. Her name is Hermione Granger and she will be joining Gryffindor."

_Not another one!_ Severus thought, it was bad enough that he had the Marauders on his back all the time but now he had to deal with another simpering idiot that would fawn all over them.

He ducked down his head and thought about how to make the wit sharpening potion more potent.

Abraxas looked forward to seeing this girl. Maybe she would become one of his conquests. As soon as he saw her though every thought went out of his head. "Beautiful..." he whispered in awe.

Severus looked up and saw the girl that everyone was gazing at. His mind stopped working and his heart seemed to stop beating. _It's the girl from before. _At once his mind worked faster than before, processing her each and every detail. She had a light smile on her face and a slight blush to her cheeks. She looked bashful and all of the boys could see cuteness radiating from her. Her grey jumper hid the size of her breasts from their view but every so often as she walked down towards the headmaster, the jumper would rustle and the boys would catch peeks at what size she could be. They weren't massive but they were generous and as Severus' eyes travelled down her body he could see the gentle curve of her hips and the long legs that were heightened by the length of her skirt. She wore simple shoes and her hair was flowing down towards her shoulders in light curls. Her brown eyes sparkled and once she had reached the headmaster she turned around and smiled shyly towards everyone. _She's a goddess _he thought to himself. He scowled at once. He wouldn't go near the girl, even if they were having a tricksters battle, he could already tell by how fast his heart was beating that he was slightly falling for her. _No! I won't give my heart to a gryffindor... not again._ He looked down again and thought about his wit sharpening potion but Hermione would creep up on his thoughts.

Albus Dumbledore meanwhile was gazing at the boy mischieviously. _He's got it! Just wait till I tell Minerva. _He grinned and carried on with his speech. "Let the feast begin!"

Hermione seeing that he was dismissing her quickly made her way over to the Marauders. _That was fun..._


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione quickly sat down opposite Sirius and next to Lily and Remus. All her anxiety had made her quite hungry so when she saw strawberries and pie she rapidly picked the plumpest and what she thought was the most delicious.

"So Hermione, we barely know anything about you, care to share?" Remus beside her leaned into her shoulder with a light nudge.

"Well I'm a muggleborn, I don't have any family," she felt better saying this rather than that they were dead "I've had a few close friends, I like to read and I hate flying."

"You hate flying?" James' face said what he didn't say - that he thought she was insane.

"I don't blame you," Lily ignored James' reply and smiled at her "James persuaded me to have another go at flying on a broom with him, needless to say after he did the loop the loop 7 times and several barrel rolls, I didn't try it again." She glared at James and he cowered under his girlfriends gaze.

"It was only a joke, please forgive me." James turned on his sad eyes and his lower lip trembled as he tried to get his girlfriend to forgive him.

"You're such an idiot, James." She tried to stay angry but after a few seconds just smiled and leaned into him. James smirked behind her back and winked at Sirius before placing an arm behind Lily.

Hermione watched Lily and James interact and wished that Harry were here to see this. He would have loved to see how in love his parents were. She felt a pang in her chest. She wanted that. She wanted the unbreakable love between James and Lily. Her less than perfect relationship with Ron had been a cruel lesson and her romantic world had shattered. But looking at James and Lily she felt her soul start to hope that she would one day find her other half.

Looking around the great hall whilst eating strawberries she tried to see if she could find the mystery guy from last night. _It won't be a slytherin..._ she thought happily to herself. Whoever had played with her last night would definitely be a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff were too nice to actually hex a student on person and a slytherin would cast a harmful curse aiming to give her an injury. Her eyes darting around the tables she tried to see the black curtain of hair on a boy. She couldn't see anyone. _Is he injured? Has something happened?_ Countless possibilities whisked through her head and she frowned. _Where are you?_

* * *

><p>Severus watched the new girl look around the room looking for someone. <em>Who is she look<em>_ing for? _

He watched as her eyes became frantic, constantly switching from the ravenclaw table and the gryffindor table. A small frown dimmed her face and he found his own face troubled. _Is she looking for me? _Immediately he dismissed this as they had only met yesterday and their greeting had hardly been friendly... just playful. It was a nict thought anyway no matter how far fetched it was. As his frown was disappearing, the idiot Black, stretched out her hand to pat hers gently. Severus felt an angry swirl in the depths of his stomach and his frown darkened.

"Jealous Severus?"

He turned to his right and found Abraxas staring at him with an amused expression.

"Of course not Abraxas, I've had enough of gryffindors for a lifetime." he replied in a snarky tone.

"This one is certainly enchanting, isn't she?"

Severus followed Abraxas' gaze to watch Hermione again. The angry feeling in his stomach appeared again and he fought it down. "You're welcome to her."

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth and his heart wished he could stuff them back in his mouth. His brain on the other hand left it there, looking out for his heart, making sure that it never got hurt again.

He watched again as Hermione and the rest of the Marauders started to get up and leave out of the great hall. His eyes strayed from Hermione to rest on Lily. _Dear, sweet Lily. _Oh, how she had changed. She was the only one who had ever accepted him for who he was. Didn't bother looking at the outward appearances that had deterred so many but to the person inside him who just wished for someone to understand him. But no matter what he always managed to screw it up. Lily had left him. _No-one needs me..._ He watched Hermione again. She was laughing at something James had said and her grin was a beacon of happiness as he caught a last glimpse of her as she turned the corner. _She'll never need me._

He looked down towards his strawberries. His favourite fruit always cheered him up so he took care to eat them with cream. Immediately his mood lightened and he quickly finished them off and made his way over to his first lesson - Potions.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione and Lily were skipping ahead of the Marauders to their Potions class. Both girls had already formed a deep bond and Lily was happy filling Hermione in with all the gossip she could think of. Sirius was ruffling James' hair and annoying Remus whilst casting glances at Hermione every few seconds. James wanted to have fun too so he decided to make fun of Lily and Hermione, so grabbing Sirius he pranced in front of them and decided to skip. Remus and Peter quickly joined in and all 3 pairs of them were skipping their way to potions.

They soon found themselves in front of their classroom and made their way to their front seats. Hermione had no idea where she was supposed to sit but Lily pulled her down beside her and they waited for Professor Slughorn.

_Oh no _Hermione thought. _I don't want to join his 'Slug Club'. Should I play dumb? Never. Should I play smart? Not a wise move. I'll just speak when spoken to._ Hermione thought happily.

Sirius sat beside her and playfully pulled at her curls and Hermione kept swatting him away. Soon the class quickly filled and Hermione was on the look out for the boy from last night. She couldn't seem to get him out of her head. _Probably because I have no idea who he is._ Her eyes never left the door and she was rewarded when he suddenly appeared in the doorway. Her breath stuck in her throat.

She could immediately tell it was him because no-one else looked like him. He was unique. His pale complexion suited his black hair which looked soft and silky and his midnight eyes seemed to stand out brightly. He looked as though he played quidditch and was lean and graceful at the same time. His nose was prominent and his slytherin crest stood out.

_That looks like... Merlin, no! _She was looking at Professor Snape! The greasy bat of the dungeons was the boy from last night! She groaned and Hermione thought that she had said it under her breath but she was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked worriedly.

Startled, Hermione turned to Lily. "Nothing's wrong, just thought about something disturbing." she grimaced and looked towards Snape again. He had vanished from the doorway and was now sitting with a blonde boy who was gazing at her intently. Hermione raised an eyebrow at the boy who just winked at her back. Her face flushed pink and she looked away from him. _I know I've seen his face before... but where?_ Her brow crinkled and she tried to think. Suddenly it dawned on her. _Malfoy!_

* * *

><p>Severus glared at Abraxas as he winked at Hermione. Did the boy have no shame?<p>

"Going after the gryffindor, Abraxas?" Severus asked snidely.

"I just might, she seems different than most."

Abraxas thought the girl was perfect. He watched as she grinned at that Black boy and a row of perfect teeth shone back at him. _An enchantress..._

Then Professor Slughorn appeared and started his lesson.

* * *

><p>After the lesson, Hermione regretted her decision to only speak when spoken to. Her thirst for knowledge was nothing to be ashamed about and her gryffindor courage meant that even though she wanted to play it down a bit, she felt terrible urges to give detailed answers. After the first 5 questions, the urges increased and she found herself answering questions in detail.<p>

She could feel the stares of the entire class as she finished descirbing the colour Euphoria should turn and how it sunshine yellow colour depicted cheerfulness which fitted with the potion as it would induce singing and nose tweaking.

Professor Slughorn had blinked owlishly and stared at her like she was a creature from mars. Then realising what an excellent addition the to slug club she'd be, he smiled like a cheshire cat.

"Well, Miss Granger, that was a brilliant answer. 10 points to gryffindor! I'd like a moment of your time after class." he said happily and began questioning other students again.

Hermione had sat with her head bowed for the rest of the lesson and quietly finished her work. Afterwards she had made her way over to his front desk and was sadly asked to join the slug club.

"I'd love to, Professor." a fake smile was on her face the entire time but she had to be polite.

The Marauders were waiting for her as she got out and she was feeling happier already.

"That was some answer, Hermione!" Peter grinned and clapped her on the back.

Hermione felt uncomfortable in his presence so when he clapped her on the back, she winced and timidly smiled back. There was nothing she could do to change the future and it hurt that she was growing so close to her new friends and that one day she knew when and how they died.

"Thanks, Peter." she answered. "Guys, what have we got next? Professor Dumbledore hasn't given me my timetable yet; he just told me to follow you guys."

"We've got flying next." Remus smirked evilly.

"Flying? Since when does Hogwarts do flying?" Hermione was very worried. There was no mention of flying classes in Hogwarts: A History apart from for first years. She had no skills in flying and could barely get off the ground.

"I know, it's ridiculous." Lily muttered.

Hermione remembered that Lily hated flying as well so atleast she had a friend with her.

The walk to the grounds was filled with laughter as the Marauders tried to cheer up both girls at doing their worst lesson.

They couldn't see the two demons sliently following them under a disillusion and plotting Hermione's death.

* * *

><p>"We could use this to our advantage." Doris said maliciously.<p>

"Make her fall off her broom at a great height or send a bludger her way?" Boris asked. He was constantly the one thinking of ways to get souls and they needed to make her heart stop beating to get it.

"Sounds good, my demon." Doris winked at Boris and they quickly made their way to the Quidditch stores.

Hermione would have no idea what hit her.


	12. Chapter 12

A gentle breeze swept through the quidditch stadium as Hermione and the rest of the class gathered their brooms and made their way towards the centre. Flying 10 metres above them was a young man who seemed to be glaring at all of them as if they were idiots.

"Right, you lot! Some of you have already mastered the basics," he grinned at Sirius, James and Malfoy "whilst some of you haven't!" he then glared at Lily and she ducked her head to fight off a blush.

Hermione leaned over to put her head next to her. "Who is that?" the awe shone from her voice as she whispered.

"That's Professor Mayhew, he's only been here a year and every girl has fallen for him." Lily sighed and gazed at Professor Mayhew.

Hermione could instantly see why they all fell for him. His brown curly locks threatened to cover his eyes and as a single lock fell, she itched to put it back behind his ear. His ocean eyes gleamed at the class and Hermione watched as one girl put a hand against her heart. He was tall and muscular, his muscles well defined by his cotton t-shirt which fit snugly to his body. Hermione licked her lips appreciatively and followed his every word.

"Looks as though we have fresh meat, what's your name again?" Professor Mayhew fixed his eyes on her and Hermione blushed from the attention. Not many men had paid attention to her before.

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Well, miss Granger, have you had any experience flying?" he asked her.

Hermione thought about flying on Buckbeak and then flying on the dragon from Gringotts. Well she definitely had experience she thought amusedly but not the one he's on about. "Not much, sir."

"Hmmm, we'll see how you go and then I'll pair you up with someone." He glanced at her again and muttered to himself under his breath. "Alright people, let's get in the air! James, lead the class around the stadium for a couple of laps then have a quick fly around for 10 minutes. Go!" The Professor turned his back on the class and went back into the store cupboard to get the quidditch supplies.

"This is gonna be fun." Lily said in a sad tone.

"Won't it just. Atleast we get some eye candy!" Hermione gave her a saucy wink and then got on her broom. "Off we go!"

* * *

><p>"She's not going to do well at all." Professor Mayhew shook his head and went into the darkness of the store cupboard. His hand went towards the wall, searching for the light switch but when he touched it nothing happened. He flicked it again a few more times. "Shouldn't trust muggle things." he muttered and grabbed his wand. "Lumos!" a bright light shone from the end of his wand and he went further into the store cupboard.<p>

Rows and rows of brooms were on his right and left side as he continued down the shelf. He spotted the box with the bludgers, snitch and quaffle on the floor although he was sure he had left it on the shelf. _That's strange _he thought. Thinking nothing of it he bent down to pick them up.

A sharp pain swept through his head and he fell to the floor in a heap. The last thing he saw was a flash of purple before the darkness took him.

* * *

><p>"I'll never get the hang of this!" Hermione moaned as she tried to hover 2 metres above the ground. She was having a bad time of it because the broom didn't want to connect with her and she had no idea how to control it.<p>

"Just think like the broom." Sirius said gently.

"How can I think like a broom? It doesn't have a mind!" she snapped back at him.

"I'm only trying to help, love." Sirius smiled sadly down at her and Hermione felt terrible.

"I'm sorry Sirius, I just hate flying so much." she shook her head and waited for Professor Mayhew to return to ask him if she could just sit on the bleachers.

"It's ok, Hermione, I hate it too." Lily rolled her eyes at Sirius and tried to fly her way over to Hermione. She was having a bad job of it too because she had the same problem as Hermione. They couldn't think like a broom.

"Alright Hermione, one last try and then you can stop." James grinned at her.

Hermione gave a withering sigh and tried once again to make her broom fly upwards.

Suddenly, the impossible happened. Her broom started slowly making its way upwards towards the sky and Hermione whooped with joy.

"I did it!" Hermione shouted.

The Marauders grinned at her and performed tricks on their broom in congratulations.

"Show offs." she stuck her tongue out at them and watched as the ground shrunk away from her. "Um, guys? How do I go down?"

Her broom was picking up speed and going further and further away from the ground.

"Help!" she screamed as she was sent above the clouds and further away from everyone.

* * *

><p>Lily and the Marauders were panicking as their brooms had been enchanted to stay in a boundary and none of them could reach her.<p>

"How did she get up there?" Lily asked uncertainly. She was worried for Hermione's safety and had a feeling that something even worse was going to happen.

They could hear Hermione screaming from above them but couldn't see her because the clouds were blocking their view.

"We have to do something!" Lily panicked and ran over to the store cupboard. "Where's Professor Mayhew?"

When she got near the store cupboard however, Lily was thrown back off her feet as though she had hit an imaginary wall.

"Lily!" James ran over to her and helped her up. "What on Earth?"

Sirius tried to get to the store cupboard as well but succumbed to the same fate.

"Wha-?" Sirius exclaimed.

A dull thud was heard from within and a whooshing sound could be heard coming closer and closer to them.

The Marauders all drew back and their eyes widened when the sound reached its loudest before becoming silent.

They looked at each other wearily and their eyes darted back to the store cupboard.

The wood started to splinter and two bludgers came roaring out of the room towards the sky where Hermione was.

Then they heard a pain filled scream.

"HERMIONE!" Sirius shouted at the same time as Lily and the both of them rushed to get on their brooms and help Hermione but they couldn't reach her. Remus ran to the castle to try and get Professor Dumbledore whilst James tried to get the rest of the class to help Hermione. The Slytherins refused to do it but when Abraxas Malfoy got on his broom to look, the rest of them soon followed.

James thought about why Malfoy had helped but stored it later because her had to help Hermione. Everyone was trying to help her.

* * *

><p>High above the clouds, Hermione was battling her broom as it was jerked in every direction to make her fall off. She clung to it and screamed for help but she didn't know if anyone could hear her. The air was cold and it whispered through her clothing so that goosebumps appeared along her arms and legs.<p>

Then she heard it.

She had only heard it once before and she had hoped never to hear it again. Possessed bludgers made a certain sound and as they rushed toward her, she prayed that she would get down with few bruises. She knew the damage they could make.

As one came into view, she flipped herself under the broom when it was within a metre of her and watched as it flew back into the clouds behind her. She grabbed onto the broom that was still trying to shake her off and with a tremendous effort got herself back on.

She turned herself away from the front and watched her back since that was where it had gone. It was a mistake. She never thought about a second one and as it came from infront of her, she never saw it.

It shattered her right arm and she screamed from the sheer pain of it. Her left arm clung to her useless right and she tried once more to gain control of the broom. Her eyes continously shifted from the broom to the clouds and as she began to weep from frustration another bludger appeared from infront of her.

It barreled into her stomach and took her off her broom so she soared in the clouds on her way down.

They followed her on the way down, consistently bombarding her. One smashed into her cheek whilst another destroyed her left arm. Then again but her right leg and her left side. Then just as quickly, they disappeared.

The flags of the houses appeared in her vision and she smiled at the reminder of all the good times she had in Hogwarts.

The last thing she heard was her name being shouted from Sirius and the last thing she saw was a glimpse of white golden hair.

* * *

><p>"It seems our plan worked well." Doris smirked and watched as the girl fell from the sky.<p>

"Our plan? It was my plan, you useless hag! Stop taking credit for my work!" Boris said angrily.

"You sounds like a child, shut up! It doesn't matter as long as she dies!" Doris shrieked and glared with hatred at the blonde boy that had caught the girl.

"Damn, we shall have to get her in the infimary." Boris sulked and stomped off away from Doris.

"Come back here! I didn't say you could leave!" Doris threw a fireball at her partners bottom and grinned as he jumped in the air. "Serves you right."


	13. Chapter 13

Darkness quickly fell onto the castle and all the students were in their beds sleeping. Apart from one. Severus Snape, loathe to admit it, had been worried about Hermione the entire day. He had seen her fall and the damages done to her body were extensive. In his laboratory, he had recently created a new potion that healed bones faster than normal and acted as a powerful pain reliever. He couldn't imagine the pain done to her. The only pain he had felt was when he was young and his father used to hit him. The Marauders were pale comparisons to his father.

His worry had caused him so much turmoil that he brewed up a batch of his potion and made plans to sneak his way into the infirmary.

Which was what he was doing now.

His black cloak clung to him like a second skin. Nothing like his billowing ones. These were for stealth and he certainly needed them. Filch had once seen him come out of his private laboratory and had given him a weeks detention for it. The worst kind as well. Cleaning up cauldrons with a toothbrush was the hardest task he had ever done. The smell of dead frogs had clung to him for days after and the Marauders gave him hell.

He soon reached the door to the infirmary and silently cast Alohomora. The doors swung open and he saw a small figure curled up on the bed furthest away from him.

"Hermione." he whispered.

A quick glance around told him that no-one was there but he crept forward silently towards her. When he got to the bed, he gasped.

"Merlin..." he choked.

Black and blue inky spots coated her entire body (of what he could see). The left side of her face was unrecognizable as it was puffed out and her left eye was swollen over. She moaned in her sleep and lay flat across the bed. He took a turquoise vial from his pocket and gently lifted her face. He coaxed he mouth open and tipped the vials contents down her throat. Her throat swallowed with difficulty but to him it was dazzling. He surpressed a small shudder and looked down at her again.

Severus' heart tugged and he reached out a hand to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. He paused an inch away and had an internal debate.

_You shouldn't do it._

_Why?_

_Because you'll be a pervert if you do._

_How would I be a pervert? It's just her hair._

_She doesn't know you're doing it, that's just creepy._

_It's harmless._

_What if she wakes up?_

_An ant._

_What?_

_An ant was on her ear and I just got rid of it._

_..._

_It'll work._

_You moron, good luck with that._

His brain turned off and he picked up the curl. It was smooth and silky despite being in the cold temperatures of the sky. He thought about how it would feel like against his face. With a deep breath and a sharp look at her face to make sure she was deep asleep, he leaned forward to put his face against it-

"Sirius..." she moaned.

_That dog! _Severus thought with his eyes glazing with hate. It's always him. He ruins everything. _So she likes Sirius..._ For some reason, his heart deflated at the thought and he physically drooped. _Like I care for a stupid Gryffindor!_ he thought angrily and stormed his way out of the ward, not caring if anyone saw him. _Why did it have to be him?_

* * *

><p>Severus had got it wrong though. She wasn't thinking of Sirius in a sexual way. She was thinking about how when the group of them were on their way to flying, he had dropped her bag when she unexpectedly winked at him and kissed him on the cheek. Her books and quills had gone flying everywhere across the ground and her smiling face had turned into a black scowl. Sirius had had the gall to grin at her, though his cheeks were bright pink, and help her pick up her stuff.<p>

Then her thoughts turned to Severus and how his eyes had turned heated when she was sopping wet during the first time they met.

A smile lit up her face, though it hurt to do so, and she whispered "Severus."

Unfortunately Severus had already left the room and had no idea that his feelings were being reciprocated.

* * *

><p>Boris and Doris were sitting high up, on the rafters in the great hall.<p>

"Damn, that Dumbeldork! Why did he create a demon ward?" Boris cried.

"Maybe he knows we're here." Doris replied quietly. She was thinking about what to do for their next plan and how to avoid Professor Dumbledore whom they've dubbed Dumbledork.

"Grrrr, our plans are delayed now." he sulked.

"It's alright my dearest, we shall just bide our time until the time is right!"

They grinned at each other and their manic laughter rang through the hall as the sleeping castle had no knowledge of the dark times coming straight towards them.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning, Hermione awoke to the sounds of Sirius and Madame Pomfrey arguing.

"Mr Black! I will not allow you to stay here whilst lessons are going on, go to your first lesson as planned!" snapped Madame Pomfrey.

"You didn't let me stay the night so I'm staying during the day! Lessons aren't important now - friendship and love is what matters! Do not part me from my fair maiden!" Sirius batted his eyelashes and gave her a stunning smile.

Madame Pomfrey was not amused. "Other women may find your smile quite cute, charming, irresistable, heavenly..." she gazed off into space and stayed like that for 5 seconds before shaking her head. "No, Mr Black and that is my final answer." With a swish of her white robes, she made her way over to another patient and started fluffing their cushion.

Hermione was listening in amusedly and was genuinely touched how Sirius had tried to stay with her. Not many guys after knowing someone for such a short time would willing throw a whole day away for a girl. She felt a body press into the mattress beside her hip and smiled. "Hi, Sirius." she said with her eyes closed.

"Hermione! Are you okay? Do you feel any pain? Can I get you anything? What happened? Madame Pomfrey!" he said this rapidly and started waving his armms around like a monkey to try and get Madame Pomfrey's attention.

"Mr Black, you are not a gorilla, no matter how much time you spend acting like one! Miss Granger, I'm quite surprised you're up, I didn't expect you to wake for another week." Madame Pomfrey scolded both her and Sirius.

"A week? I would have been lost without you, Hermione." he gave her a devilish grin and gave her a one armed hug. He quickly leaned into her and whispered near her ear "Thank Merlin you're okay, I was worried sick." He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. She still smelled the same; she smelled like lavender and sunshine but wait.. what was that other scent? He quickly drew in another breath. It was a tangy potion smell and only one person smelled like that. Snivellus.

He drew back and looked into her eyes, trying to see any deception. Big mistake. Her chocolate eyes overflowed with warmth and innocence that shook him to his core. He quickly looked away and clenched his fists. That bastard...

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Hermione. I'm gonna go get the others so they can see how you are for themselves." Sirius said whilst making his way to the door.

Hermione's eyes were shocked. Sirius barely expressed his emotions to anyone and she felt touched and horrified at the same time. She was happy that he was confiding in her but why did he tell her? _He couldn't be... He isn't... He's not..._ Hermione grinned and laughed at herself. _Yeah right! _As if Sirius was in love with her. He'd only know her a few days and she was sure that he liked another girl in ravenclaw.

She laughed at herself again for being so silly. Unbidden a picture of Severus floated through her brain. She stopped laughing suddenly. _I should really talk to him more, he barely had any friends in this time so I doubt one is going to make a difference. _She was very wrong.

* * *

><p>Sirius stalked out of the Infirmary and went to find his friends. They would help him find a way to get back at Snape. The bastard must have snuck into the infirmary and done something dastardly. Granted, Hermione had been perfectly well when he saw her but he was sure there was something wrong. Snape shouldn't have been anywhere near her.<p>

"James!" he called out as he saw the rest of the Marauders heading out of Muggle Studies and caught up to them. He filled them in on what he had smelt with his doggy nose and how to give him a lesson.

"Break his bones?" James suggested.

"Already done." Sirius said boredly.

"I'm not taking part in this, carry on without me gentlemen. I'll go and see Hermione." Remus said and pushed off from the wall and strode down the hallway.

"Coward! Don't tell her!" Sirius shouted after him.

Remus merely waved a hand in reply and carried on. He may feel very bad about what was going to happen but he would never betray a fellow Marauder.

"Naked in the great hall?" suggester Peter.

"Too gross! Merlin's balls, Peter, you're digusting!" Both James and Sirius exclaimed and pretended to be sick.

"Only a thought." Peter said sullenly and glared at them.

"Alright, your thought was noted." Sirius said with a smirk.

"I think I have an idea guys."

James quickly whispered his plan to Sirius and Peter and they all grinned at each other.

"Perfect."

* * *

><p>"Hermione, how are you feeling?" Remus asked. He was perched on the side of her bed and had brought several books with him.<p>

"I'm feeling much better thankyou especially when you brought books." She gently smiled at him and hugged him.

He coughed lightly and turned his face away so she wouldn't see the light blush sprinkled over his cheeks.

"How bad did I look before?" she asked quietly.

He sighed and turned his head to let his gaze wander down her body. "You had a lot of bruises, you were black and blue all over," he closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the image "the left side of your face was also swollen but you look great now."

He was puzzled over that. It had happened yesterday yet no bruises showed on her body and her face was no longer swollen. He could only deduce that Madame Pomfrey had used a new potion that fixed everything quickly. But then why didn't she use it for other students?

He looked over towards Madame Pomfrey. She was trying to fix a second year that had fallen down the stairs. Why wasn't she using it now?

Hermione frowned as she thought about what he said. It sounded very odd. No potion fixed everything immediately, she would have read about it. Yet she had been given it. _Oh well... atleast I'm healed and not feeling any pain._

"When can I get out of here, Madame Pomfrey?" she called over to her.

"Hmmm... I'd have liked to keep you in here for another day but an accident's happened on the fifth floor corridor. Apparently Peeves thought it would be a funny idea if he turned the students into animals. They'll be here in 5 miutes so I suggest you get your things and go. One last checkup though!"

As Madame Pomfrey quickly sweeped her wand over her, Hermione thought about her Severus again. _Why is he constantly in my mind? _With a nod of thanks to Madame Pomfrey, she took Remus' arm and made their way into the great hall for dinner.

* * *

><p>"This is great! If only we could do this everyday, my life would be complete." Sirius sighed and dragged along Snivellus under the invisibility cloak.<p>

"Chop chop slave, otherwise bad things will happen." James smirked.

Severus could only mouth obscenities at him as he was under silencio and pull back as strong as he could. However, against both James and Sirius, he was a lost cause.

"Hermione! We have a surprise for you!" Sirius called.

_Oh no..._ Severus thought. At her name, he began frantically pulling at the cords that bound his wrists, damaging them in the process.

"Stop that!" James called behind his shoulder and strode towards Hermione and Lily.

Both of them had just finished their meal and were making their way to the Gryffindor Common Room to finish their charms homework.

"A surprise, Sirius?" Hermione smirked and arched her eyebrow at him. She could only imagine what his surprises were like; dead frogs? someone's knickers? a puppy? Out of all the ideas she had, she like the puppy best but she was very doubtful that he would give her a puppy.

"Follow us, ladies." James said gallantly and all four of them made their way into the nearest deserted classroom.

"Well, what is it?" Lily asked. She was amused by how infatuated Sirius was with Hermione and the girls in Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had a pool going for when he would ask her out.

James and Sirius grabbed a fold of the cloak and prepared to pull it back. "Tadaa!" they both said and pulled it back.

Hermione and Lily gasped in horror.

Severus was wearing nothing but boxers which were a bright startling pink that said 'I am the fairy queen!' across the front. His head was hung in shame and his black hair formed a curtain, shielding his face from view. The boys, taking their gasps to be one of amusement, made him do a pirouette and on the left side of his pants was a picture of a fairy sprinkling love hearts.

Hermione's face quickly became red with anger and quickly shrug out of her cloak. "Brilliant surprise, Black." she said sarcastically. She drew out her wand and cast Immobulus on Sirius and James. "Screw you guys, if you think picking on someone is a fun thing to do." Without glancing at either of them, she walked over to where Severus was stood rigid in shock. "I'm so sorry, Severus." she whispered and drew the cloak over his shoulders. She couldn't look him in the eye. Her friends had done this to him. It was all her fault. She knew how horrible they were from Snape's memories so why didn't she stop this? Turning away to try and control her angry breathing she wandered over to where Lily was guarding the door, watching for other people and keeping an eye on James and Sirius. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she spun back around to face Severus.

His eyes were warmer than she'd ever seen them and were filled with gratitude. "Thanks." he whispered and giving her shoulder a light squeeze, he fled out of the room towards the dungeons.

* * *

><p>Severus was deeply ashamed when the cloak lifted. <em>I should never have left the slytherin common room... <em>The two boys had ambushed him as soon as he had left and had thrown his clothes into a suit of armour. _Hermione... _there was no question that she would laugh at him. Who wouldn't? When he was dressed in these ridiculous boxers that had a fairy on them. Bracing himself he waited for laughter. Instead he found anger. Her smiling eyes had turned into a blazing fire that erupted when she saw him.

"Brilliant surprise, Black." she said.

_What? She isn't laughing? _he thought numbly. _What is she doing? Why is she taking off her cloak? _He was in shock. A gryffindor was helping him. He watched with silent eyes as she drew her cloak around him. _I have to give it back later... maybe in a year or never._

"I'm so sorry, Severus." she whispered.

_Bloody hell, there's the gryffindor heart on her sleeve _he thought sarcastically. Deep down though, he was happy. No-one had ever stood up for him before and for her to do so, against her friends... She was brilliant.

She turned away and started towards the door.

_Wait! _his mind cried but in reality he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks." he whispered gruffly. He wasn't a thank you person but he would forsake pride this one time. _Enough with the mushiness! _he marched to the door and ran to the slytherin common room but not before disillusioning himself. _Wow..._ he smiled.

* * *

><p>Hermione watched as he fled the room. <em>Stupid boys. <em>Her eyes found Lily's. _Poor Lily... stupid boyfriend._

Lily strode over to James. "Don't bother finding me for the rest of the day and tomorrow, you'll find a very angry girlfriend and consider yourself lucky you still have one." With a quick nod to Hermione and trying to hold back tears, Lily quietly made her way to Gryffindor tower where she would no doubt stay the night; away from James.

"Now lets see how you like the taste of your own medicine." Hermione's evil laugh filled the room and the two boys stuck in the room with her, could only pray that she was light on them.


	15. Chapter 15

The next morning, a high pitched scream was carried through the castle. In his office, Professor Dumbledore was doing some paperwork when he heard it. He hurriedly rushed out of his office and ran to the source. It was Professor McGonagall's room. He strode in and heard a cry from the bathroom. Face paling, he walked into it. His mouth gaped open.

Sirius Black's wrists were cuffed to both the shower and sink so he was spread eagled in front of him. He was wearing nothing but a black leather thong. His eyes found Minerva. She was clutching her red robe and her grey hair was messy down her shoulders. Her eyes were liquid fire and she was shaking from rage.

"Sirius Black! How dare you!" she shouted.

"Minnie, chill for a minute here. It's not what it looks like." Sirius pleaded. He had been wearing a thong all night and his bum was getting incredibly sore. "Just release me and I'll go."

"Mr Black, do you mean to tell us that you are not here of your own free will?" Professor Dumbledore asked, after he had recovered from shock.

Sirius blushed and looked away. He know he should be incredibly angry at Hermione, in fact he was a little, but he couldn't help but be turned on with how she dealt with him and James. He wouldn't rat her out - Gryffindors don't betray their own plus he was half in love with her.

He looked again at Minnie and turned on the charm.

"Of course I am! Minnie's the most gorgeous teacher here and she'll always be my queen." he waggled his eyebrows at her before winking at Professor Dumbledore.

As if on cue, another scream ripped across the castle.

"That'll be James." Sirius smirked and leant his head on the back of the wall.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore looked worriedly at each other and ran to the where the sound had come from. Professor Dumbledore quickly cast Diffindo behind his back so Sirius was released.

Sirius gently rubbed his wrists and thought about how to get to the gryffindor common room without being seen. He could think of nothing. _Oh well. _He whistled a cheery tune as he strode out of Minerva's quarters wearing nothing but his black thong and thinking how the girls would dig him.

* * *

><p>The sound had come from the infirmary and Minerva and Albus were again shocked when they got there. James was in a similar situation to Sirius apart from he was being attacked by Madame Pomfrey. She had a broom in her hand and was swatting him with it repeatedly.<p>

"You animal! Trying to get all the poor girls in the dorm! They're ill! You make me sick, Mr Potter!" she snapped angrily and kept hitting him over the head.

"Ow! Stop it! It's not what you think! Professor! Help me! She's gone insane!" James pleaded.

"Poppy, I think that is quite enough." Professor Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

Poppy swiped him once more on the head and stormed over to both the Professors. "Absolutely disgraceful. Can't control his hormones. I have a potion that can make him limp for the entire year if you require it headmaster." Her eyes gleamed with the promise of retribution.

James had heard what she had said and his mouth was open in horror. No sex for a year! He had to stop them. "Lets not be so drastic, Madame Pomfrey. It was only a joke." he said feebly. He tried the puppy dog eyes but none of the professors were amused. He hung his head in defeat. "I promise I won't do it again."

"That's right, Mr Potter. However you and Mr Black shall recieve detention for a week. Be thankful it isn't longer!" Professor McGonagall said snootily and marched out of the door with Madame Pomfrey. They looked like twins at that instant.

Professor Dumbledore quickly released James and put a cloak around him. "I'd suggest you go back to your dormitory now, Mr Potter before anyone else sees you." he said with a smile.

James blushed hotly and nodded his thanks before zipping his way through the door.

Professor Dumbledore sighed. _I've never seen Minerva become that angry before._ The glow that had surrounded her eyes had transformed into a volcano of fire which burned hotly. _Some prank though_ he smirked to himself. With that he strode to his office so he could prepare for the busy day. _Why are all the students staring?_ Professor Dumbledore frowned and carried on walking. He head a giggle from behind him and turned to see a group of girls blushing. He looked down at himself. _Oh, that's why. I'm still wearing my pyjamas. _They were bright purple with cute ducks splattered all over them and he was still wearing his sleeping cap. Blushing slightly he made his way through the castle quickly and gave a big sigh of relief when he got to his office.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately Sirius was having a harder time of getting to the common room. All the ladies he saw would rush up to him and start talking to him whilst flickering glaces towards his dick. He couldn't blame them. It looked even more pronounced with a thong that it did with boxers. <em>Maybe I should wear these more often even if it does hurt<em> he grinned to himself as yet another girl blushed and flustered her greeting. Finally he got to the common room.

"Mr Black! What on earth happened to you?" the fat lady exclaimed.

"Just a slight mishap." he grinned. " Hobgoblins." he gestured towards the door.

With a worried look, she opened the passageway and allowed him entrance.

Hermione and Lily were there playing wizards chess when they saw him. Lily's mouth dropped open and turned a shade of red whilst Hermione just smirked at him.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Just in Minnie's room." he said casually and made his way to the boys dormitory.

Lily choked on a laugh and grinned at Hermione. "Have I mentioned you're awesome?"

Hermione grinned back at her and together they made their way to the great hall for breakfast.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the present day Professor Snape was having a dream.<p>

_He was being ambushed by James and Sirius._

_His clothes were taken from him and he was being held on leash like a dog. I hate them..._

_He was being taken somewhere._

_"She's gonna love this." Sirius grinned at James._

_Who' she? He was puzzled. Sirius had never taken him somewhere to be humiliated. It was always spur of the moment._

_He was also wearing ridiculous boxers. Merlin, I must have drank something weird._

_"Hermione! We have a surprise for you!" Sirius called._

_Hermione? There wasn't a Hermione in his school days... Granger? That stupid girl! What has she done?_

_Wait, what was happening now? He was going into a room._

_"Tadaa!" James and Sirius said._

_Oh, the shame. I hate them. I hate them. I hate them._

_What's she doing? Her face... she's not laughing. She looks angry. But why?_

_"I'm so sorry, Severus." she whispered._

_A jolt ran through him. Severus. It sounded incredible from her lips._

_She was putting a cloak around him. She's helping me! Why? She hates me. But her eyes... they look so sad._

_"Thanks." he whispered gruffly. Insufferable know it all._

Groggily he woke up and looked at the clock. 3 am.

"Ugh, must have been the firewhisky." he muttered and went back to sleep.

Little did he know that it was a memory not a dream.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N I know I've been terrible at updating these past few weeks but s'all good now. I'm gonna try and publish every few days. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Back in the past, Severus was staring at his coffee. Hoping that it would give him a sign. <em>Should I approach her? Does she hate me for tearing her friendship apart? What does she think?<em> He was like that when Abraxas came and straddled the bench next to him.

"Severus?" Abraxas asked.

Severus continued to frown at his coffee and if anything his face darkened.

"Severus!" Abraxas poked him in the arm and seeing it do nothing, smacked him over the head.

"Ow!" Severus whirled to face him and glared at him. "What?"

"What the devil is the matter?" Abraxas asked gently. "You're thinking about something serious and I know it's not the offer Lucius gave to you."

Severus paled at this and pushed his coffee away. "I haven't thought about that in weeks." he whispered.

"You know Lucius wants you to. Personally I don't think you should." Abraxas said confidently.

"Shush!" Severus hissed. "You never know who's listening."

"Yes I do. You're listening. That's it. He's a lunatic. I have no idea what Lucius sees in him." Abraxas sniffed indignantly and smirked at his best friend.

Severus just shook his head but smiled over his mug as he took a sip of his coffee. "Your brother isn't the most sensible of people."

"Don't remind me. This summer I found him wearing the silly mask, if anything that group should work on its sense of style. Amateurs."

Severus burst out laughing and grinned at Abraxas. It rapidly faded though when he saw who had come through the great hall doors. _Lily.. and Hermione. How odd._ His heart did an unexpected jump when he thought of Hermione. _Probably just because of last night._ He watched as Hermione glared at Sirius and James sitting at the gryffindor table and furiously whispered to Lily.

* * *

><p>Lily's eyes widened and she glanced at Severus indicisevly. "I'm really not sure about this, Hermione." She nibbled her lip and looked at Hermione. She had been such a good friend to her and they had barely known each other.<p>

"I really don't want to sit with Sirius right now, Lily." Hermione's eyes teared up a little but vehemently she shook them away. "I'm going to sit opposite Severus, your welcome to join me." With a smile of encouragement she gathered her gryffindor courage and walked over to the Slytherin table. As she neared, the great hall's laughter and chatter died down to silence. Fighting a blush, she sat opposite Severus and grabbed a muffin and starting pulling bits off it and eating them. Looking up she met the stare of Malfoy. _Damn. I forgot he's friends with Severus. Oh well, have to be polite._

"Sorry, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Hermione Granger." she stuck out a hand with a nervous smile. It would look dreadful if he refused to and thinking of Draco from her own time, she thought this was likely to happen.

Hermione watched as Malfoy stared at her hand for several moments before reaching his own pale hand to shake it. "Charmed. I'm Abraxas Malfoy and I'm sure you already know my moody friend Severus here."

Severus scowled at Abraxas before looking behind Hermione's shoulder, wearing a hopeful expression.

Hermione looked behind her and saw Lily making their way towards them. Her head was bowed so her hair covered her expression which was no doubt a blush and she quietly sat down next to Hermione.

Seeing that Lily needed some encouragement, Hermione put an arm around her shoulders. "I think you already know Lily Evans." she laughed lightly.

* * *

><p>Severus stared at Lily for a long moment. <em>She's finally going to start talking to me again! <em>In his mind, he started doing his little happy dance which was not unlike Chandler's off of friends. Unfortnately his body was mimicking his movements so as he was thinking about dancing; his body actually was.

Hermione and Lily stared openly at Severus as he did his weird little dance. Abraxas was also watching as though he couldn't believe his best friend would embarrass him in front of 2 hot girls they were trying to impress. Getting over the shock, Lily burst out laughing and Hermione joined her quickly after. They were clutching their sides and tears were streaming down their faces. Abraxas grinned at them and allowed himself a small chuckle before smacking Severus on the head.

"Ow!" Severus' eyes glared at Abraxas in anger, "What was that for?"

In reply, Abraxas merely nodded at the 2 girls laughing on the other side of the bench.

Severus turned pink and glared at Abraxas again. "Idiot."

Abraxas pretended to look outraged and sniffed as though Severus was dirt on his shoe. "I was not the one dancing." He raised his eyebrow and smirked at his friend.

Scowling, he snapped at the two laughing girls "If you're quite finished laughing."

Both girls stopped laughing and blinked owlishly at him. Hermione, seeing that Severus was embarrassed tried to appease him. "Awww, Severus that was brilliant." she said whilst wiping the remainding tears off of her face.

"I forgot how funny you were, Sev." Lily said quietly and offered a shy smile to Severus.

He turned pink again and a sappy smile lit up his face.

Thwack!

Twitching wildly, Snape turned his head to Abraxas whilst clutching his head. Abraxas merely raised an eyebrow and sipped his tea.

Hermione smiled at the friendship between them but after glancing at her watch realised that if they didn't leave now then they would be late to class. "Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you Abraxas but me and Lily have to go to History of Magic now. Maybe we'll see each other again." she offered a flirtatious smile and grabbing Lily, they flounced off to their lesson but not before giving Sirius and James a death glare.

"What intriguing women." Abraxas muttered as he watched them exit.

Thwack!

Turning his head rapidly to Severus, he stared at him in shock. "You did not just do that."

"I think you'll find I just did." Severus smiled as he bit into a cookie.

Thwack!

Severus sputtered and raised his hand.

The thwack wars had begun.

* * *

><p>"That wasn't so bad now, was it Lily?" Hermione asked with a smirk outside their classroom.<p>

"No it wasn't." Lily laughed and struggled to keep her composure. "I've really missed Severus." she said with a quite sigh.

Hermione felt a sharp jab in her heart. _Did Lily want Severus?_ She studied her friend. She wasn't blushing. _A sure sign she doesn't want him! Isn't it? _Hermione felt a brief panic. If Lily dumped James and went for Severus instead then Harry wouldn't be born. _He's mine!_ _Woah, where did that come from?_ _I am not crushing on Snape!_

A voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hermione?"

She looked up and met Lily's worried eyes.

"Are you ok?"

Hermione managed a grim smile "I'm just peachy."


	17. Chapter 17

After a boring lesson of History of Magic, the girls decided to take a little walk by the black lake. However, as soon as they got there they realised that they weren't alone.

"Lily!"

Startled, they both looked up to see James and Sirius running towards them. Hermione looked at her best friend. Tears were forming in Lily's eyes and her hands were trembling. "Do you want to leave?" she asked softly.

Lily glanced at Hermione's eyes and saw nothing but warmth and comfort. "No," she whispered "lets get this over with."

Hermione gave Lily's hand a slight squeeze before taking up a stance which clearly said 'Do not do anything bad or I'll rip you a new one."

The boys faltered as they got within 2 metres.

"Lily," James said with slight tears in his eyes "I'm so sorry."

Lily was silently crying now. She had missed her boyfriend so much. But she had to ask. "Why are you sorry?" she asked in a shaky voice.

James seeing the woman he loved in distress reached out a hand towards her but she shook her head quickly. "I'm sorry for making fun of Severus. He touches a raw nerve with me, I don't know why. I can't stop it. But I will, because I love you. Being apart from you has been like hell. I won't harm him anymore. It was wrong and I-I hurt you. I don't ever want to hurt you. You're the woman I love." His voice broke on the last word.

Lily seeing how regretful he was finally smiled for the first time in days. "You idiot." She sprang into his arms and they both held onto each other as if it was the last hug they'd ever share.

"Well, it's a happy ending for everyone." Sirius grinned and tried to put his arm around Hermione.

"Not quite." Hermione said scorchingly. "Sirius you need to apologise too."

James brought up his head. "I'm sorry to you too Hermione, I know you want to be friends with everyone."

In reply, Hermione poked a tongue out at him. "Sirius?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Sirius turned red and his hands clenched. "I-I-I-I'm s-sorry." he said through gritted teeth. _I'll never say it to Snivellus' face._

"Now both of you need to say sorry to Severus." Lily said quietly.

It was too much for Sirius, he'd had enough. "No! I won't say sorry for insulting that greasy git. He's had it coming to him. He's a fucking death-eater! It'll be a cold day in Hell before I ever say sorry to him." he said angrily.

"Well I guess we will have to take a brief gap at being friends Sirius." She reached out and put a hand on his cheek. "Please change your mind Sirius, I really miss having you as a friend." she said sadly and started walking off towards the castle.

"Wait!"

Hermione turned around hoping it was Sirius calling but no, it was just Lily.  
>"I'm coming with you." Lily shared a scorching kiss with James before pulling away from his arms and running to Hermione. The two best friends linked arms and hurried their way to Potions.<p>

"You plonker." James said with a grin.

"Oh shut up." Sirius smiled but inside he was tormented. _Should I say sorry?_

* * *

><p>"Right class, today we will be brewing Polyjuice potion. Obviously this will take place over the next month so make sure you brew it correctly at each stage. If you do it incorrectly, you will of course have to start all over again. Now here are you partners:"<p>

Lily groaned. "Damn, I wanted to work with you!" Lily cried.

"No need to be that upset about it." Hermione laughed at her friends distress in a soothing way.

"I know but atleast I'd definitely get an O with you."

Hermione pretended to be shocked and punched Lily's arm lightly.

"Evans, Lily to work with Malfoy, Abraxas."

Both Hermione and Lily gaped.

It was a huge coincedence that just as they made his acquaintance and now Lily was partnered with him.

"Wow," Lily laughed "Thank Merline we just met him. Otherwise I'd be really worried." She laughed again at the twist in fate and walked over to where Abraxas was grinning.

Hermione pondered for a moment. _Why have I never heard the name Abraxas before? Surely if he's Draco's uncle he would have been part of the Death-eaters. _She thought about it worriedly and would have tried to think about it but her name was called out.

"Granger, Hermione with Snape, Severus."

Hermione smiled and made her way over to Severus' desk. "Hello again." she grinned.

Severus stared at her in shock. _She's smiling? What a beautiful smile._ It transformed her face into an angel and her face glowed from the inside.

"Severus?"

Blushing, he realised he'd been staring and concentrated on how to start the potion. "Are you good at potions?" he asked quietly.

Hermione was affronted by his question. "I happen to be very good at potions. Are you?" She felt a bit silly asking the question as she knew he was brilliant but she didn't want him to know that she knew.

Severus smirked in what he hoped was an attractive way. _Wait! I don't want to be attractive to her. I don't. _He couldn't help it though. She was smart, beautiful and talented. Who wouldn't want to be attractive to her?

Hermione blushed. _That smirk makes him look so boyish. Bad, bad Hermione _she tutted to herself. "Right, well... we better start with the potion."

The rest of the lesson was spent with the two of them working in harmony and when they were waiting for something to boil or simmer, they talked about themselves and different ideas for strengthening potions.  
>At the end of the lesson the two of them had done the most out of everyone and when it was time to go they met each others eyes.<p>

_Wow, his eyes are so dark. I feel like sinking into them _Hermione thought.  
><em><br>Wow, her eyes are so light. It feels like sunshine _Severus thought.

Realising that they were btoh staring at each others eyes, they blushed hard and looked away.

_Sink into them? Right, yeah. As if. He's not made of sand. _She looked at the back of his head. _No, he seems real and solid._ Hearing Lily call out her name, she quickly said goodbye and followed the rest of the class out of the door.

_Sunshine? What am I - 4? I'm a mean, lean slytherin machine. I don't so sunshine. _He looked at the back of her head as she exited. The sun shone on her hair, making it seem fiery and glowing. Shaking his head he made his way out of the door and towards his next lesson. _Weird._

* * *

><p>Sirius growled.<p>

All through the lesson Snivellus and Hermione were cheerful and flirting. Of course, Hermione wasn't to blame. It was her nature. She loved having a laugh and a bit of flirting. But Snivellus didn't. He was cold to gryffindors. But not Hermione. _I hate him. Why can't he flirt with someone else? I have to save her.  
><em>  
>It was then that Sirius thought of an evil plan. He would save Hermione and defeat the foul beast. <em>Pfft and people say I'm not romantic.<br>_  
>Whilsting a hearty tune, he made his way to quidditch. <em>Don't worry Hermione, I'll save you.<em>

* * *

><p>Abraxas and Hermione were laughing at dinner when Severus came in.<p>

_She's at our table again?_ Severus glanced towards the Gryffindor table and saw Sirius moodily stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork. _Guess that's why._ He walked over to the Slytherin table and sat beside Abraxas. "Joining us again, Hermione?" he asked.

"Yeah, Sirius still hasn't grown up."

The boys laughed at this and all of them started an avid debate about whether Slytherin or Gryffindor would win the house cup.

None of them noticed a black liquid being poured into Hermione's cup so when Hermione picked it up to drink it, no-one warned her.

* * *

><p>Far above them, on the rafters, Boris and Doris were laughing at their second attempt at trying to kill Hermione. "No-one will know it was us. This is perfect. We'll get her soul when she's in her grave!" Doris screeched in happiness.<p>

* * *

><p>Severus noticed that Hermione had grown paler by the minute. "Hermione, are you ok?"<p>

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Upon seeing his unamused face, she told the truth. "Ok, I'm feeling a little ill."

"Hmmm..." Severus picked up her cup and smelt it. His eyes widened in recognition and he brought the cup down with a thud. "Statis!" he cried, brandishing his wand at Hermione. Immediately, she fell into a deep slumber.

"Sev, what are you doing?" Abraxas said angrily.

"She's been poisoned." Severus said panicking. "We have to take her to the infirmary. Now!" Knowing that Abraxas was stronger than him, Severus called for him to pick up Hermione and run to the hospital wing."I'll go tell Dumbledore."

Running to the teacher's table, he quickly told the Professors that Hermione had been poisoned and they all ran to the ward.

* * *

><p>"Noooo!" Doris cried. "Our plan ruined."<br>"Patience dear, we'll get her eventually." Boris said in his dopey tone. "Next time."

* * *

><p>When Severus got there with the teachers, he ran to Hermione's side.<p>

"Anything?" he asked Madame Pomfrey.

"The poison has stopped acting but there is still some traces left. We will have to see if her body can defend them well enough before giving her anything. Well done though, without that statis charm she'd be gone by now." her face was haggard but still she managed a warm smile at him.

Nodding his thanks, he quickly took a seat by Abraxas by Hermione's bed.

"Hermione!" Lily cried.

The doors banged open as more Marauders came in to see Hermione.

"Is she ok? C'mon! I demand answers!" Sirius shouted as he saw Hermione deathly pale against the sheets.

"She's fine, Mister Black but think twice before you take that tone with me." Madame Pomfrey said icily.

"How could this happen?" Lily whispered as she brushed a hair from Hermione's face.

"You did it!" Sirius said angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Severus.

Severus didn't even hear him. He was to busy gazing at Hermione, praying that she would be alright.

"That's just stupid, Sirius. If you're going to kick up a fuss, get out. Hermione doesn't need negative energy right now." Lily said.

Muttering beneath his breath, he took a place by Hermione's bedside. "Who did it then?" he asked quietly.

"We don't know but the teachers are going to find out." Abraxas said in reply. _Who would do this to her?_ _I'm gonna find out if it's the last thing I do!_

So, the odd group of people waited for Hermione to wake up. Hoping that she would wake up and not succumb to the darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N - Sorry I've not updated in awhile. I've been caught by the nasty bug going around because of winter time and my mind has been mush for a loooong time! This is a bit more gory than I usually do, so just a warning that there are corpses, zombies and maggots along with other things bahaha.**

_Why is everything red? Hermione thought to herself as she examined the strange room. It looked like a simple classroom with desks and stools. Just like the potions classroom. A whisper of movement to her left. She jerked her head in that direction and saw the supply closet door swinging open and closed silently. "Professor?" Edging towards the door, she grabbed a quill that was placed on the desk and peered into the depths of the closet._

_"Is anyo-" she started but it immediately turned into a scream._

_The corpses of her parents were hung from the ceiling. Their throats raveged beyond compare, showing white bone that chipped in places from the rope. Maggots crawled along their flesh and she watched with horror as they fell to the floor. Creeping forward she thought to check if they were alive. Movement. Her mother's hand twitched and grasped the floor. Slowly as if taking great care her parents started to get up of the floor and make their way towards Hermione. They had a sick smile on their faces, as though they were glad they were about to kill her. "N-n-no-o!" she stuttered as she backed away towards the door. "No!"_

_She turned and ran for the door but Remus was in the way. He was in werewolf form and looked sick and pale. His long tongue licked around his face and his teeth were stained red._

_Desperately she ran away from Remus. she wasn't in the potions classroom anymore but running down a long corridor with a white glow at the end. The beauty of it made Hermione smile but hearing a howl from behind her, it quickly turned into terror and she ran towards it._

_Further and further she ran, yet the glow came no closer. Hearing pounding feet ever closer she knew she wouldn't get away so turned and faced them head on._

_The first one she saw was Remus. His grotesque head seemed too large for his body and he snarled as he watched her. Beside him, on either side, were her parents. Their zombie faces were grinning whilst the maggots slowly devoured their faces._

_As they reached for her she screamed and finally the light enclosed her._

* * *

><p>"Is she ok?" Peter asked. He was wringing his hands and watching Hermione as she turned pale and started twitching.<br>"The potions wearing off, I need to give her another calming draught." Madame Pomfrey said quietly and immediately went into her cupboard to get it.  
>Severus was still in the same place he had been 2 days ago. He had only eaten mouthfuls of food since she had first come in and hadn't bothered changing his clothes. <em>Wake up soon Hermione <em>he prayed in his mind. Another selfish part of him was wishing that she would stay asleep. He had never spent 2 full days with Lily before and she was starting to talk to him more and more. Blushing, he glanced from the corner of his eye at the object of his affections.  
>Lily's eyes were dim with worry and no sleep. He watched as she yawned and rested her head against Potter. <em>Damn him!<em> His fists clenched and immediately stopped thinking of Lily. One of his only friends was in a hospital bed less than a metre away and here he was thinking about his petty love life. _What kind of friend am I?_

In her bed, Hermione had started moaning and thrashing about. "No!... Noooo..."

Abraxas who was seated on Hermione's left took a wet cloth and patted it on her forehead. "It's alright Hermione." he said soothingly.  
>Severus watched as his friend made comforting noises at her and he smiled that Abraxas genuinely cared for Hermione. So many girls had thrown themselves at his best friend and who wouldn't? His blonde locks always seemed to shine and his blue eyes always seemed to be full of humour and goodness despite being in slytherin. They would be a good match. As he thought this he felt a sick feeling in his stomach. <em>I don't want her to be with Abraxas? <em>His stomach seemed to settle at this and he stared at it in confusion. _Lily or Hermione? Make up your mind, you dunderhead! _He was so confused. Did he like Lily or Hermione? As his gaze settled on Hermione again he couldn't help but feel as though Hermione was winning.

* * *

><p><em>"Filthy little mudblood!" Bellatrix screeched in delight as she cut Hermione again and again.<br>Nothing Hermione said would make her stop. "I've never been in your vault!" she screamed as Bellatrix cut an M into her arm.  
>"Stupid girl! You lie! Now tell me, where did you get that sword?" Bellatrix's eyes were wild and full of madness as she started carrying on with her masterpiece. Writing mudblood in as many places as she could manage.<br>Continuously Hermione screamed, trying to get the witch off her but the binds on her hands and legs would not budge. Trying to leave her body, Hermione glanced around the room trying to find anything to focus on. The room was similar to the one in Grimmauld Place with the family of the tree but this one was of the Malfoys. Seeing a blacked out image and realising she barely felt the pain anymore she squinted to try and read the name. _Abraxas Lucius Malfoy. _Seeing the name of her friend, she screamed even louder as the pain came back full throttle. "Abraxas!" she moaned. Something's going to happen to Abraxas! She screamed as Bellatrix started cutting up her outer thighs in a little pattern.  
>"Mind if I try?"<em>

_Hermione's head jerked up as she recognised the voice. Her frightened eyes met Ron's. His mouth turned up at the corners and his eyes turned red. "You're so ugly. No-one'll notice if I reck this body of yours."  
>Slowly, he started slicing at her body in a criss cross pattern and she watched as the floor ran with her blood.<br>"Now let's wreck that pitiful face of yours."  
>Before he'd even touched her, the darkness came and swept her away.<em>

* * *

><p>"Abraxas!" Hermione moaned.<br>Immediately everyone's eyes turned on Abraxas. He put up his hands in surrender, "I haven't touched her."  
>Sirius growled and stalked over to where he sat. "You never will." he whispered in a deadly tone.<br>"She'll be the judge of that." Abraxas smirked and turned his face away from Sirius.  
>Hearing that Abraxas wanted to touch his princess, Sirius saw red. "Like hell she will!" he shouted and grappled Abraxas to the floor.<br>"Stop it! Both of you!" Lily cried.  
>Severus calmly cast Petrificus Totalus at Sirius and reached down to grab Abaraxas from the floor. Brushing at his robes, Abraxas snarled "Keep your dog away from me." at the rest of the marauders. Glaring back at him, James and Peter grabbed Sirius off the floor and restored him to being able to move. Instantly he clawed at Abraxas again but the marauders kept him back.<br>"Not worth it mate, Hermione won't go for him anyway." Peter smirked and helped Sirius to a seat away from Abraxas.  
>"Idiots." Severus said quietly and he and Abraxas sat down yet again by Hermione, hoping that she would wake up before someone else tried to have a fight with them.<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

Shifting on her bed, Hermione cuddled her pillow pretending it was Severus. "Mmmmm... Severus." she mumbled sleepily and snuggled her head closer into its softness. From her left she heard a quick snicker which was quickly muffled. _Odd..._ she thought. _Probably just Alice giggling at me, not my fault I drool! _she thought pleasantly to herself. The girls in her dorm already knew she drooled so she was no longer embarassed by it. Another snicker again from the left. _Ok, getting a little annoyed._

"Shut up, Alice! Some people need their beauty sleep!" she snapped as she finally turned around. Her mouth dropped open. Lily had a hand clamped over Abraxas' mouth who was fighting off the urge to burst into full out laughter but after seeing her face couldn't help it.

"Bahahahaha!" Abraxas laughed as he clenched his stomach. "Darling, you should have seen your face." he winked at her roguishly.

His words brought everyone else to life from their sleep and she realised for the first time that it was pitch black outside. She was also in the infirmary.

"Um, guys? What is going on?" she cried out panicking.

"Hermione!" Severus converged on her as though he hadn't seen her in years. "Someone go get Madame Pomfrey!"

"You do it, Snivellus. Everyone knows you go for older women." Sirius replied as he rushed up to Hermione. "How are you feeling?" he asked worriedly as he placed a hand on her forehead. His hand tingled from where it touched her.

"I am fine," she said irritably "now someone tell me what is going on."

"You were poisoned." Severus said quietly. James had gone to get Madame Pomfrey once he realised that she was up and awake.

"Poison, right, of course. Everyone's out to get me!" she cried dramatically before pretending to swoon back. Her joke got no reaction. "Oh come on guys! No-one is trying to kill me."

"First the broom. Now poison." Lily was muttering under her breath.

"Complete coincedence." protested Hermione. Everything had logic and in this time she was pretty sure that no-one wanted to kill her. No-one even knew her.

At that moment Madame Pomfrey came in with James.

"Now dear, how are you feeling?" she asked whilst she cast a spell to check if everything was normal in her system.

"I feel fine." she replied quietly "Hard to believe I've been poisoned." she muttered under her breath. Though the cold hard facts were there. She was in the infirmary and had apparently been in there for a few days judging by her friends faces. They look tired with partial bags under their eyes whilst their complexions looked paler than usual. Even Peter looked worn out.

"When can she get out of here?" Lily asked. She hated seeing her friend here. It reminded her of what could have happened if Severus wasn't there. She spun her head around to look at him. Hermione had said his name whilst she was asleep. Was something going on between them? From the way he was looking at her she thought there was. There was a small pang in her chest. _Merlin, I'm horrible. I'm feeling jealous that Severus is no longer pining for me _Lily thought. She frowned and blushed when she realised that Severus was staring at her. To her horror, he blushed as well and swept a hand through his hair. She closed her eyes, hoping that didn't mean what she thought it meant. _Poor Hermione... _she thought sadly. Yet a small part of her leapt with joy that she hadn't totally lost him.

"It's the middle of the night, Miss Evans. She can leave in the morning." Madame Pomfrey said sternly.

Lily blushed and tucked herself into James' side.

Hermione gazed around at them. "Well I'm going back to sleep." she yawned whilst flopping back on the bed.

With muttered agreements the rest of her friends found places to settle down for the night and within a matter of minutes everyone was deeply asleep.

* * *

><p>Hermione had been ready to go for 10 minutes now yet Madame Pomfrey wanted to give her one last check. Having to be polite, Hermione let her do the tests with only a slight grimace on her face. The morning was frosty and she was contented to see fog roll across the grounds which distracted Hermione from the tests that Madame Pomfrey was performing. Another distraction soon appeared however.<p>

"Hermione!"

She turned around and smiled when she saw Minerva who had burst thought the doors.  
>With a cry, Minerva rushed up to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright." she said, her eyes thick with tears.<p>

Hermione was shocked. It was still hard to grasp that the untouchable professor from her past-no wait, future? Whatever it was, it was still a shock to see her behaving so oddly. She hugged her back before gently pushing her back to arms length.

"We'll get to the bottom of it, I like to think of myself a detective." Minerva said smugly and Hermione saw what she was wearing.

Her transfiguration professor was dressed like Sherlock Holmes and was smoking a pipe that spewed bubbles everytime she blew. Hermione couldn't help it. She burst out laughing until tears streamed down her eyes.

Professor McGonogall smiled at the girl she thought of as a daughter. As soon as she heard she had woken up, she tried to think of a way to cheer her up and she was glad that her costume had made her laugh. _There should be more laughter _she thought.

"Um, Professor? I don't meant to be disrespectful but we have to go down to breakfast now." James interjected with a blushing smile. His head of houses actions had always seemed prudish to him yet here she was behaving like well... a child. It put a silly smile on his face.

"Oh, of course. Run along now!" she said bemusedly and distracted Madame Pomfrey so she wouldn't be able to keep them any longer.

Hermione giggled quietly as her laughter subsided and she walked towards the door with her friends. Abraxas walked beside her and it seemed like he wanted to say something. "Are you okay Abraxas?" she asked concerned. She was further alarmed when he blushed and averted his face before completely stopping.  
>"Actually, yes there is. Would you mind if we just talked privately for a minute?" he murmered gently.<p>

"Yeah, sure." she assured him and called out to the others that she was just going to talk to Abraxas for a minute. Sirius and Severus' eyes narrowed and Sirius seemed to turn red whilst Severus turned pale. Wanting to call out to see if they needed help she didn't have the chance as Abraxas dragged her down another corridor till they reached an empty room.

"What's wrong Abraxas?" she asked.

His gaze was intense as he gazed down at her. She could see how his blonde-white hair shone as it burned against the torches lining the wall. The heat in his eyes was smoldering and her breath quickened.

It made sense now and she blushed that she hadn't figured it out sooner. As he leaned closer she subconsciously moved closer until they were both an inch away. Then with one fell swoop they kissed.

And immediately drew away.

There was no passion. No ringing church bells. No fireworks. No raw flash of heat. Just a feeling that it wasn't right. Make that a big feeling.

_Akward... _Hermione thought and blushed so her face was no doubt an unattractive shade of tomato.

_Akward... _Abraxas thought and he absent mindedly ruffled his hair.

They both looked at each other and started laughing. With a sigh they hugged each other.

"Best if we just stay friends?" Abraxas smirked.

"Absolutely." Hermione winked and arm in arm they walked off to breakfast.

* * *

><p>Severus moodily stabbed his toast and imagined it was Abraxas' face. Was he destined to want girls that wanted someone else? His mood darkened as Abraxas and Hermione walked in arm and arm. He caught Sirius' face and was pleased that he was angry as well. <em>Atleast someone else isn't happy.<em> He glared at his coffee as Abraxas sat beside him with Hermione on the other side. It was good to see that she hadn't forgiven Sirius but it was annoying to see her wave to them.

"Hi, Sev." Abraxas smiled but seeing the look on his best friends face it quickly turned to concern "what's wrong?"

"Nothing." he snarled whilst taking a gulp of his coffee. The heat of it schorched his mouth yet he welcomed it.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Hermione said.

He looked into her eyes and started to drown in them like always. With a glare he stood up from the table so he towered above her. "Nothing, I only tell my problems to friends yet I see none here so I'm leaving. Goodbye slut."

Turning towards his best friend he talked to his shocked eyes "Watch out for that one, she's already made one idiot fall in love with her. You're just next." He turned away from the table and strode to the doors so he could vent out his rage in peace.

* * *

><p>Hermione blinked. What had gone up Severus' butt? Abraxas was trying to talk to her.<p>

"He didn't mean it..."

"Obviously confused..."

"...greatest prat in the world."

"I'll go after him." He made to stand up but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He looked down at her and was shocked at her eyes. Her usually warm chocolate eyes were now raging from anger and the chuckle that came from her lips mades his arms goosebump. Eyes wide, he gazed at her in horror.

"I will go and find him. You stay here." her voice and deepened and her mouth was curled in an evil grin. With a last chuckle she followed Severus out of the doorway. Everyone she passed seemed to sense he mood and they all cowered back as she glared at them.

"Merlin have mercy on you Severus, 'cause I don't think she will." he chortled and read his daily newspaper thinking of what she would do. It would not be pretty.

* * *

><p>Severus was in the room of requirment throwing spells of any kind in any direction. He was exhausted. In 5 minutes he had destroyed everything the room had conjured up for him 50 times and now he wearily conjured up a couch so he would lie down and think.<p>

BANG! BANG! BANG!

He jolted up and pointed his wand towards the door. Asking for an environment in which he could hide easily the room created a forest. He stealthily climbed up a tree and waited to see if the intruder would come in. When they didn't he cracked open the door so he could see.

With another giant bang the door smashed open and thudded against the wall. There bold against the doorway was Hermione draped in a black aura that seemed to drip from her person.

His eyes widened and he clutched the tree tighter. _Why is she here?_

It soon became apparent why she was here.

"Severus..." she said in a creepy voice. "I know you're in here..."

He wished he were invisible. In another dimension. Anything. The waves coming off her were scaring him which he hated to admit but it was giving him the heebie-jeebies. It was obvious she was angered by what he had said and she was here to exact revenge.

"Severus, I know you're hiding from me. You're just making me angry. Well more angry." she gave a dark chuckle.

It chilled him to the bone. _What have I unleashed?_

"Now, Hermione. I know you're mad..."

Her eyes immediately darted to his and she raised her wand and cast Immobulus in his direction.

With quidditch reflexes he jumped down from the tree and ran for his life. "Hermione! What are you doing?"

She ran after him and started casting spells whenever she had a clear shot which to his disadvantage came more often than not. He darted past different trees until he heard a dull thud. Hermione had ran into a tree and lay crumpled on the ground.

"Hermione!" he ran back to her and gently shook her to see if she was awake.

With a quick petrificus totalus he completely powerless and he watched as she rose from her spot to see a smirk grace her features. "Silly boy," she said darkly "don't run away again. Do you remember what happened to James and Sirius?"

Severus turned pale as he remembered. He definitely did not want that to happen to him.

"Then don't run away." she said as though she had read his mind.

He was released from the spell as she said this and he shook his head slowly. Bowing his head he said "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she said harshly.

"For calling you a slut." he said quietly.

"Why did you call me a slut?" she said shakily. The anger had completely gone and now she was yet again an emotional girl who had been told by the boy she had like that she was a slut.

"Because I was angry." he said looking away.

Hermione looked at his face before looking to her hands. "Ok, you don't have to tell me. We have to go anyway. I promised Abraxas I'd leave you intact." she grinned impishly before standing up.

"Oh yes, wouldn't want your boyfriend upset." Severus said bitterly.

"What are you on about?" Hermione said confused, "Abraxas isn't my boyfriend."

Severus' head shot up so fast he could feel his head spin from the change. "He's not?"

"No! Merlin, what is it with boys here?" she shook her head and walked to the door. "Are you coming or not?" she called after her shoulder.

He could only stare dumbly at her. His whole world seemed brighter and she was at the centre of it. With a grin he shot after her but not before he tickled her to death for running after him and scaring him. Her laughter rang in his ears for the rest of the day.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N - First let me say a huge sorry for not keeping up with the updates, I've been revising for exams but now hopefully I'll carry on updating once a week. And secondly its SEVERUS' BIRTHDAY TODAY! XD**

* * *

><p>A week later she was sitting with Severus and Abraxas at lunch when Professor Dumbledore quickly tapped her on the shoulder.<p>

"Miss Granger? Can you come to my office after dinner please." he smiled gently at her before patting her on the arm and making his way to the heads table.

Hermione frowned and tried to think of what he might want to see her about.

"Been a bit of a naughty girl have you Hermione?" Abraxas smirked.

She scowled and poked her tongue at him.

_What could Professor Dumbledore have to talk to me about?_ She turned pale. _He couldn't have found a way to get me back already! There's so much I want to still say to everyone _she thought sadly.

"Hermione?" Severus asked.

She turned to see what he wanted and was greeted by dark depths full of concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Hermione smiled and shook off the darkness of her mind. "I'm fine, thanks. Now what did you think of the new method to create shrinking solution..."

For the next half an hour, she and Severus had a banter whether it would actually go anywhere. Hermione being from the future already knew that it was a success whilst Severus stubbornly said it would definitely fail. Even Abraxas joined in the argument by saying he thought that Hermione was obviously the one who was right because she was cuter. This brought a scowl from Severus whilst Hermione and Abraxas laughed at him before making their way out of the hall.

"Ok guys, I'll see you later!" Hermione shouted past her shoulder as she went into the opposite direction towards Professor Dumbledore's office. Just as she turned the corner she thumped against a solid person and would have fallen off the floor if they hadn't caught her.

"Sorry!" they both said at the same time.

Sirius held the girl by the waist as he kept her from falling and he, the gryffindor sex god, blushed as he realised who he had caught. "Hi." he whispered.

Hermione blushed as his heated gaze swept down her body and she gently pushed his hands back to his sides. "Hi yourself."

They stood there akwardly for a minute - her watching a spider make its way across a windowsill and him gazing at a brick on the wall.

"Um well, I have to go see Professor Dumbledore now, so if you'll excuse me." Hermione made 10 paces before Sirius called after her.

"Hermione! Wait." he ran up to her and gazed at her intensely for 10 seconds as thought deciding finally what he was going to do.

Hermione stood trembling. She wanted her best friend back. The one who always made her laugh. The impossible guy who chased everything with a skirt. The shoulder to cry on. The adorable puppy always eager to please. Her best friend. Sirius. Consciously she could feel her eyes starting to brim and tried to swipe them away.

Sirius stopped her with a gentle hand and said what he had chased her to say. "Hermione, I'm going to be your friend again. I don't care if I have to be friends with Sniv-Snape, I want you back."

He meant this in more ways than one but Hermione took it for friendship and with a choke pounced into his arms to hug him fiercely. Sirius gladly hugged her just as hard back and for a few moments they stood like that as though they could take on the whole world.

Hermione sighed deeply in contentment before letting go of him with a bright smile. "Well, I really have to go now so I'll talk to you after you've talked with Severus." With a last wave she had vanished around another corner and left him standing there, bereft of her comforting warmth.

"Hermione." he whispered.

* * *

><p>Hermione rushed to the gargoyle 10 minutes late and quickly gasped out the password "Lemon drop!" She watched as the entrance opened and quickly went inside to the Headmaster's office. She politely knocked knocked on the door and upon hearing the words come in immediately walked in.<p>

"Sorry I'm late, sir!" she said quickly and politely sat down.

"Now Miss Granger, you're probably wondering why I've brought you here." he said.

Hermione gupled before answering. "Yes, sir."

"Well Miss Granger, I'm afraid we haven't been able to find a way to get you back to your own time. In fact we are still perplexed as to how you came here in the first place. But, unfortunately we may have found the answer." he said grimly.

"How, sir?" she asked.

"How much do you know of demons, Miss Granger?" he questioned.

"I know that demons are also commonly referred to a soul stealers. The most powerful of demons are usually a dark purple whilst the lowest form take a certain pale pink colour. There have also been a set of demon wars in the last 300 years because of the rarity of the so-called 'pure' souls. Many demons died in the wars so now there are only about 800 left. Besides enormous power they also posess a special knife which is used to cut the souls from the living and they are usually the minions of a demon lord. I think that's all I know Professor."

"Well done, Miss Granger. You are indeed correct. Care for a lemon drop?" he offered.

"No thankyou, sir. Why did you ask me about demons?"

"I'm afraid Miss Granger we believe that you are one of the coveted 'pure' souls. If this is the case, then we will need 24/7 cover on you so they can't manage another attempt on your life. The attempts on your life only further this theory but we have to perform a soul charm on you just to be sure. Do you mind?"

"O-of course not." she stuttered out. _Demons? Really?_ her mind screamed. She knew what happened to 'pure' souls if they were indeed real. They would cut her soul from her body whilst she was still alive and she would die a matter of minutes later. _I don't want to die._

She felt a light thrum travel from the top of her head before reaching her toes and travelling back up again. She heard Professor Dumbledore gasp and knew the worst.

She was a pure soul.

* * *

><p>Severus and Abraxas were skipping stones by the black lake. Severus was winning with 4 skips whilst Abraxas only had 2.<p>

"You cheated!" Abraxas cried.

"How did I cheat?" Severus said amused.

"You-you charmed your rock!" Abraxas pouted before playfully shoving Severus.

"Did I now? Well I think your just rubbish at skipping stones." Severus sniffed.

Abraxas swerved his head to Severus' before he grabbed him and tried to drag him into the lake. Both of them now were getting their ankles wet and they were shoving, punching and kicking each other so they could try and get each other drenched. After a kick that left him winded to his stomach Severus staggered and with a final ankle hook from Abraxas he fell like a tree into the water. Abraxas laughed at his friend in the water as Severus spluttered with his hair pasted to his forehead. Getting revenge, Severus did the same manuvoure on Abraxas and laughing they splashed each other before trying to dunk each other.

"Ahem."

Both fighters stopped and turned to the intrusion. Sirius was stood at the waters edge with a slight frown on his face.

Severus reached for his wand but before he could get a hold of it Sirius started talking.

"I came to apologise."

This stopped both Abraxas and Severus short. Never had Sirius apologised before. Obviously he was doing it for something else or better yet someone.

"Why?" Abraxas asked.

Severus was staring at Sirius. _Ulterior motive? Lull me into false security? Distraction?_ Theories sprang into his head and he wasn't pleased with any of them.

"I want to be friends with Hermione again and for that I need to say sorry to Severus." Sirius said angrily. It had taken him awhile to come down to say sorry and now they were questioning him about it. He was doing it from the goodness of his heart! Or atleast the part that belonged to Hermione.

"Ok." Severus said quietly.

Abraxas looked at his friend in shock. Did he really just say that? _Severus has lost his mind._

"Alright then, a truce. For now." Sirius smirked before running towards the castle to find Hermione.

"Why did you say yes?" Abraxas said despairingly.

"Because Hermione wants it. She'll be a lot happier now." he blsuehd before looking away towards the lake.

"Oh, so it's for Hermione is it?" Abraxas got a twinkle in his eye much like Professor Dumbledore and it scared Severus.

"Yes. She's my friend so therefore I will try to make her happy." he said in a disinterested tone but Abraxas caught the true meaning in his friend's eyes.

"Whatever you say mate." Abraxas smirked.

Thwack!

"Ow!" yelped Abraxas and rubbed the back of his head. Glaring at his best friend he did the same thing.

Thwack!

Both boys looked at each other and together they ran towards the castle thwacking each other across their heads.


	21. Chapter 21

Professor Severus Snape had started to get regular headaches throughout the day and he was getting increasingly annoyed. "Poppy!" he stormed into the infirmary. "I need you to do a check-up on my brain."

"Worried it's fallen out?" Poppy joked.

Professor Snape scowled and angrily muttered "More like disintergrated due to sheer stupidity of my students."

"Whatever you say, Severus." she grinned before quickly waving her wand and performing a spell. Frowning, she looked at the results. "You have abnormal activity in your brain. Have you had any weird dreams?"

Severus struggled to remember his dreams but sadly they were beyond his grasp. "I cannot recall."

"I'd go and see the Headmistress if I were you. Might have to go to St Mungos for more tests." she grinned.

Severus could imagine the ridicule. _Snapes finally gone mad! We'll never have to see him again! No potions for a year! _Not on his watch. Nodding his head to Poppy, he strode out the infirmary with his robes billowing behind him.

* * *

><p>Hermione walked without knowing where she was going. The Bloody Baron had been assiged first watch but as he had seen the Grey Lady (the woman he was desperately in love with) float past he had hurriedly asked her if she was ok to walk on her for a few minutes. Nodding her head he vanished into the walls. She was glad for the space. The news that demons were after her caused such a terror through her soul it felt as though everyone around her was a threat. She'd even took to using her mirror to turn corners so that she could see what was ahead of her before she turned. Approaching a corner, she got said mirror out and was about to tilt it when a dark shadow appeared on the wall. Rapidly turning around, she struggled to stifle a scream as she only realised it was Sirius.<p>

"Oh Sirius!" she cried and she burrowed into his warmth so that she could pretend for a moment that nothing was going to kill her.

"Hermione?" he asked worriedly. He gently wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as sobs broke through her hard shell. It broke his heart.

Feeling like she could control her tears, Hermione pulled away from his warmth and harshly wiped away the remaining tears. Taking a deep breath she gave a shake her head before giving Sirius a big fake smile. "Hi, Sirius! Did you apologise to Severus?" she asked.

Sirius was unamused. Arms crossed, he stood watching her with one eyebrow up.

Seeing this, Hermione grimaced before trying to find a way to explain what had happened in Dumbledore's office. With a defeated voice she said quietly "Demons are after me."

Sirius blinked rapidly before scrutinising Hermione's face to see if she was lying. Seeing the hopelessness in her face he realised the gravity of the situation. "Why are they after you?"

Hermione mumbled and Sirius couldn't hear her. Sirius frowned. "You have a birth mole?"

"No." Hermione said tiredly. "I have a pure soul." She didn't want to deal with lots of questions at the moment, she just wanted to curl up in her bed and sleep for eternity.

Sirius was shocked. His Hermione was a pure soul. If demons were after her... His eyes turned wide and he glanced at her face. She already knew what happened to pure souls that were captured by demons - death. "They'll never get you." he whispered harshly.

Hermione merely shook her head and walked back down the corridor at a wandering pace.

Sirius wouldn't take no for an answer. Running after her, he grasped her shoulders and pulled her around to face him. "They will never get you. I will be at your side every second." he said avidly.

Hermione already knew that he would help her but hearing it made all the difference. She pulled him in for another hug. "Even when I'm sleeping?" she joked.

Sirius pulled back so she could see his wink. "Especially when you're sleeping." he said roguishly.

Grinning, the both of them walked to gryffindor tower.

* * *

><p>That night she told Lily about the demons.<br>After Hermione had told her, Lily turned white and clutched the bedsheets tight. "Oh god." Lily moaned and shifted her eyes into the shadows as though imagining demons were already there.

"It's ok, Lily. I think Professor Dumbledore is going to just use the ghosts to guard me and I'll always have you guys to protect me." Hermione smiled though it was fake. It seemed Lily didn't like the idea of danger.

"Don't you worry, Hermione! I'm sure I've read somewhere that marmalade is an excellent demon repellent." Lily looked a bit sick at the idea and Hermione thought about how weird it would be to bathe in marmalade.

"I think I'll pass." Hermione said and soon after both girls were asleep. Both of them dreaming of purple demons running after them.

* * *

><p>"Princess! We're gonna be late!" Sirius called as he watched Hermione slowly walk down the stairs. He could see purple bruises under her eyes. <em>She must have had terrible nightmares...<em> Sirius thought. Angry that demons could try and steal his Hermione he tried to cheer her up. "Good morning, miss" he said as she got closer, "I am your carriage for today." he grinned.

Hermione's eyes widened before she slowly came up to a stop in front of him. "I don't think so." she grinned before flouncing away "That would require you to pick me up and as I weigh-"

Sirius had heard enough talking. With a scoop of his arm, he grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder in a firemans lift.

Hermione squealed and hastily beat against his back. "Put me down! Everyone can see my knickers!"

Sirius grinned before patting her on the butt. "Very charming knickers they are too." They had green leprechauns all over them. After a few minutes of embarassment Sirius decided he'd had his fun and instead carried her in a piggyback.

"Much better." Hermione said happily. Deciding to get her revenge she kicked his sides. "Move donkey! Faster!"

"Donkey?" he said in mock offence "I thought I was a stallion!" he neighed.

"Shush donkey. Take me to the great hall." she commanded.

She got no reply as Sirius was too busy running towards the great hall in the hope that she would squeal in terror like before. She felt so good against his back and it made a weird fuzzy feeling in his stomach. Both grinning they reached the great hall.

"Thankyou donkey. I'll see you later." Hermione said cheerfully.

"You're not eating with us?" Sirius asked frowning.

"Nope, I have to tell Severus and Abraxas about the demon problem." she said.

Sirius put a fake smile on his face before replying. "Well... have fun!" he said enthusiastically.

Hermione looked at him weirdly before she left towards the slytherin table. Had he been too enthusiastic?

* * *

><p>Severus and Abraxas were eating breakfast when a commotion started just outside the great hall.<br>Abraxas caught words like 'horse', 'donkey' and 'neigh'.

'Severus caught words like 'hottie', 'new girl' and 'fun'.

"How has a horse and a donkey got into Hogwarts?" Abraxas asked confused.

"What are you on about? I thought it was Sirius was having fun with the new girl." Severus muttered also confused.

"You mean Hermione?" Abraxas said shocked.

Severus grew pale. _Of course! The new girl is Hermione! _How could he have been so stupid? Though he could see how. She had been with them so much it felt as though she'd always been a part of their lives and that she hadn't had a life before them. _Sirius and Hermione?_ he thought sadly.

"Speak of the devil." Abraxas said as he noticed Hermione enter the hall and make their way towards them. "I'm sure it's not true." he muttered in a low breath to Severus.

"Doesn't matter if it is." Severus said scathingly back.

Abraxas snorted in reply and Severus glared at him.  
>This was what Hermione sat down at. "Well, I can see we're all happy here." she said amused. The fights between these guys were always comical.<p>

"Of course we are." Abraxas said smoothly. "Now what's this I hear about you and Sirius?"

"As subtle as ever." Severus smirked before looking at Hermione over his teacup. "Well?"

"He just gave me a piggy back ride to the great hall if that's what you mean." she smirked. "He makes an excellent donkey."

"I've been telling him that for years yet he still doesn't believe me." said Abraxas.

"Guys, there's something I need to tell you." Hermione whispered.

Instantly both boys thought about scenarios.

"Wait, don't tell me - you're in love with me and want my children. It's alright, Hermione. You can have my children." Abraxas said.

"Your modesty knows no bounds, Abraxas. Let me guess, you're actually a weasley in disguise." Severus said.

"That's even more absurd."

"More absurd that Hermione being in love with you?"

"Yes. Everyone is in love with me."

"How very optimistic."

"You're just jealous, Severus."

"Of course I am. Who wouldn't want your superior wit?"

"Exactly." Abraxas nodded failing to hear the mass amount of sarcasm in the sentence.

"Guys! I'm afraid I'm not in love with you Abraxas, and no, Severus I am not a Weasley in disguise. This is serious." she said struggling not to cry. How she wished one of their ideas were true she thought bitterly. It would be a lot easier.

Seeing her distress, both boys became worried and immediately reached for each of her hands.

"We're sorry Hermione, what's wrong?" Abraxas asked gently.

"According to Professor Dumbledore..." she took a deep breath "Demons are after me." Hermione saw them stare at her blankly, "Because I'm a pure soul."

Severus paled considerably whilst Abraxas clutched her hand even tighter.

"Oh god, Hermione." Abraxas choked out.

Severus' mind was whirling. _Oh merlin! Another girl I like destined to never be mine! She's going to die! _

He gave himself a mental slap. _She is not going to die! We're going to protect her..._

_From demons?_

_From hell itself if necessary._

"They won't get within 100 metres of you Hermione." Severus said.

"We'll never leave you alone." Abraxas chuckled lightly. "Me and Sev will walk you to class."

Hermione smiled at her two best friends. Not many people would have stood beside her in her own time, it seemed chivaly hadn't died yet. "I love you guys." she joked and began eating a little of her breakfast.

"So it is true! You are in love with me. I knew it." Abraxas said.

"She is blatantly not." Severus snarled back.

"She just said she loved me! You're just jealous."

"Am not. Who would want to be in love with a ferret like you?"

"A ferret? How dare you! Who'd want to be in love with a sourpuss-"

Hermione grinned behind her teacup. Atleast somethings carried on as normal.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N - Yay! I finally have a weekly thing going on! I will post new chapters every Sunday which will hopefully work. Have fun reading! Oh and thankyou so much for all your reviews. All of you reviewing make me feel that I can actually write! Bahaha.**

Weeks went by and Hermione was kept under constant surveillance by the men in her life. Before everyone knew it, it turned into December and snow started to fall across the grounds of Hogwarts. Of course, the marauders were ecstatic at all the new pranks they could play. Mistletoe at the teachers table; Hagrid and Professor McGonogall were not pleased at all and unfortunately received a weeks detention. There had been no further attempts on Hermione's life but everyone was still ready just in case.

"Hermione!"

"What?" she said irritably. She had had enough of everyone following her and understood the precaution but Sirius coming into the toilets with her was too much.

"I'll, uh just stand out here." he said sheepishly, seeing the look on her face. Never get on the bad side of Hermione.

Nodding her head she disappeared.

Sirius gazed in the place she had stood. His feelings for her were increasing with every passing day until he felt like it was an ache so deep in his chest it would never disappear. He didn't want it to disappear. He leaned against the wall and thought about any potential rivals. Abraxas was no longer an option as Hermione had rejected him. _Remus?_ _Nah. Peter? Definitely not. Snivellus?_ It was here that he paused. Hermione hadn't noticed but Sirius saw the way Snivellus sometimes looked at her. It was a look of curiosity, confusion and adoration. Aimed at his Hermione! Sirius clenched his fists. He had to make Snivellus understand that she was off limits to him.

He immediately lost this train of though when she came through the door.

"You ok, Sirius?" she asked.

"Yep, brilliant." he grinned and bounced towards her. "Shall we go milady?" holding out his arm.

"Of course." she smiled back and together they went towards the great hall for dinner.

* * *

><p>Severus and Abraxas were already sat in the great hall when Hermione and Sirius came in. Severus gritted his teeth at the possessiveness of the dog. Sirius had him arm around Hermione's waist and she was laughing as he then twirled her around.<p>

"Get a grip!" Abraxas hissed beside him.

Breathing deeply, Severus did what he asked and unfurled his hands which had turned into fists. "Do you think she likes him?" Severus asked quietly, almost dreading the answer. But he had to know. It was driving him insane.

Abraxas was well aware of how both of his best friends were feeling towards each other. There were times when Severus would stare at Hermione for awhile before blushing and looking away. Hermione would give him sly glances with hope and adoration shining on her face. But he had to leave it to Severus. Although Abraxas was a womaniser, he was a strong believer that love works its way through everything. He would leave it to Severus.

"I don't know." Abraxas muttered, glancing away.

Severus took a sip of tea, trying to get rid of the dull pain in the region of his heart. Somewhere along the line Lily had vanished and Hermione was now firmly in his mind all the time. He knew what it was, he liked her but he definitely didn't think he loved her. Surely a lightning bolt would come from the sky and he'd feel it.

A thunk was heard as Hermione plonked herself on the seat opposite Abraxas and Severus.

"Hi guys. Having fun?" she said.

"Peachy." Severus grimaced.

"Ignore him, it's his time of the month." Abraxas grinned and winked at Hermione.

Severus glared at Abraxas before hitting him over the side of the head.

In retaliation, Abraxas raised his hand preparing to strike but was stopped by Hermione.

"Really?" she said, "I thought you had both grown up by now." she said teasingly.

Abraxas pouted before giving her a quick grin. "You know Hermione, we should have a snowball fight."

"That's a great idea. You're playing too, right Severus?"

Severus looked up from his newspaper. Her eyes were soft and he felt himself get pulled under by her gaze. He thought he saw adoration but quickly dismissed it as friendship.

"Definitely." he said whilst still looking in her eyes. It felt as though he was stuck, watching the happiness glow on her face he realised that he wanted to put happiness on her face more often.

"Ok. Do you mind if I ask the marauders to join in as well? It's always more fun when there's more playing." she smiled happily.

Severus' enthrallment quickly left. _Of course she'd want to play with Sirius..._

Seeing his friends glum expression, Abraxas quickly intervened. "Yep, go and tell them that we'll play tomorrow morning because it's Saturday."

Hermione went to tell them and Severus and Abraxas were left on their own.

"At least we still spend time with her." Abraxas murmured.

"Yeah. At least." Severus said worriedly.

* * *

><p>"Tag! You're it!" Hermione shouted towards James as she ran away.<p>

A squeal was heard from behind as James picked Lily up and dropped her in deep snow. "Now Lily's it." he grinned.

Hermione hurriedly looked at Severus to see how he was feeling. She knew that he must be in love with her and it must have been hard to see someone you love with someone else. Severus didn't seem affected as he threw snowballs at Abraxas, laughing as he did so.

The next thing Hermione knew, cold snow had been shoved down her jacket. "Aaargh!" she shouted and attempted to shake it off. Turning around she ran after the person who had done it. "I'm gonna get you Sirius!"

"Oh I hope you do!" he laughed giddily.

Hermione dived toward him and caught his legs. They both went down in a tangle of legs and were rolling around trying to get snow on each other.

Severus watched this sadly. They were having so much fun. _How can I ever compete?_

Lily could see the misery in his eyes and tried to cheer him up. "Tag!" she said as she poked him.

Severus struggled to bring up a grin on his face and ran after her.

Hermione had stopped playing with Sirius and sat watching Severus poke Lily's sides to keep her laughing. She gloomily looked away. _I am from the future! I don't care if he loves Lily _she tried to tell herself. With a shaky smile she accepted Sirius' hand to help her up and together they chased after James and Remus.

After an hour of trying to build a snowman, the marauders and Severus and Abraxas accepted defeat and decided to start a snowball fight.

"Right, me, James and Hermione versus Lily, Remus, Abraxas and Sniv-Severus." Sirius called as he formed a group circle with his comrades.

"We should build a wall of big snowballs quickly." Hermione said. She wasn't usually competitive but she needed to get rid of the pent up emotion.

"I agree, lets get started." James replied. Together they quickly formed a wall that reached to their waists.

"3.2.1. Now!" Abraxas shouted.

Hermione spun around just in time to see a flood of snow come crashing over her team. Gathering snowballs in her arms Hermione began pelting the opposition with snowballs. She let out a whoop as she got Remus in the chest with one but stopped as she received a snowball in the face from Lily. Grinning, Hermione began to throw them at her best friends.

Severus couldn't remember having this much fun in years. He and Abraxas were currently throwing them one after another at Sirius. _One way I'll get revenge _he thought wickedly. His black gloves easily picked up the snow and he playfully threw one at Hermione which hit her dead centre.

Hermione laughed and threw one back which he easily deflected with his hand. Her laugh shimmered in the air around him and for a moment he stood dumbfounded for a moment as he filed it away in his brain for all time.

Thunk!

He received a face full of snow and with a growl wiped it away and glared at Sirius. Sirius smirked in reply and merely threw another at Abraxas.

Abraxas was really getting into it now and started creating a snowball which was the size of yoga ball. With a quick flick of his wand, he sent it hurtling towards Hermione.

Sirius shouted out and Hermione whirled around to see it heading straight for her. Hermione raised her eyes skyward and smiled as she waited for the snowball to hit her. There was no way she was going to dive out of the way in time.

With a leap Sirius dived into her, pushing her to the ground as the snowball sailed harmlessly above their heads. It crashed nearby and snow fell to sprinkle around them.

Hermione was pinned underneath Sirius' body and was laughing joyfully at the sheer pleasure of being with her friends.

Sirius was mesmerised. She was glowing with happiness and it brought out a twinkle in her eye that sparkled. Her body seemed soft and pliant beneath his and he could feel the heat radiating from it.

Hermione's eyes were wide as she saw Sirius stare at her. _Is something wrong?_ "Sirius...?" she hesitantly asked. Sirius leaned down towards her and she felt the warmth of him sink into her skin. She could see now, how they were laying. Her hips had spread apart and were either side of his legs and he had settled himself there comfortably. Hermione blushed deeply. _Oh Merlin! No! He can't like me!_

Sirius was inches away from tasting her lips when a snowball smacked into the back of his head. Sirius snarled as the moment disappeared and stood up angrily. Seeing Abraxas' triumphant smirk, Sirius began gathering snowballs to prepare a mass invasion of snow.

Severus stood still like a statue. His face was pale and his hands shook though they weren't cold. There was no doubt about it. _Hermione likes him.. she would have moved. _The sight of them lying there, inches away from each other was branded onto his heart with an iciness that had spread into his entire body. Hermione was brushing herself off and stood with her cheeks a startling red.

"I think we're finished here now." Remus shouted and began making his way to the castle with the marauders on his heels. Sirius was muttering about not having his chance at revenge and Hermione had come to stand by him and Abraxas.

"That was fun." she laughed and walked up to the castle with them.

Severus didn't say a word. He feared that if he spoke just one word he would crumble into a million pieces.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N - Sorry that this is shorter than the previous one, I'm getting a bit of writer's block which will fade. I hope. Anyway thanks to all of you who are reviewing! You really brighten up my day.  
>Dislaimer - I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters within it. Felt I should put that down considering I keep forgetting to. I own nothing but the plot! <strong>

"Severus?" Abraxas asked. His friend hadn't moved ever since they had come back from the snowball fight and he was getting worried. _Damn you Hermione! _Abraxas thought harshly. He knew how she felt about Severus even though she hadn't said anything. _So why did she let the dog get that close to her? _a part of him spoke nastily. He shook his head and poked his friend.

Severus did not speak. He sat in his favourite armchair by the fire gazing into its sinister flames. His eyes blurred and he waited until the last slytherin left the common room before responding to Abraxas.

Abraxas watched in shock as Severus bent his head and started shaking with sobs. Severus never cried. Never. Feeling sorrow that was unimaginable he put a comforting arm around his friend. "How much did you like her Severus?" he whispered. The sniffling stopped for a moment before he heard a faint whisper.

"I thought I loved her."

Severus tried to stop the sobbing. Slytherins didn't cry. They were a league of strong, emotionless people. He couldn't help it though. It felt as though ice had crawled into his heart and dwarves were repeatedly hammering his brain. He was a fool. _Of course she doesn't love you. Who would love a big nosed, greasy idiot like him?_

Abraxas was getting angry now. "Severus! You pull yourself together this instant!" he shouted.

Severus stopped crying and stared wide-eyed at his friend. After all he had been through he was relieved that someone had finally taken charge.

"We are going to show her that you don't care. We must behave normal whilst I," Abraxas grinned manically "I have some work to do."

Severus wiped his cheeks and laughed at Abraxas. At least his friend hadn't changed.

"Come on. Lets go to the great hall for dinner. You've been here a tad too long."

With the help of his friend Severus soon created the image that all was well in his world.

* * *

><p>Everything went well during dinner and Severus and Abraxas were making their way to the common room when Abraxas said he needed to go find Hermione.<p>

Severus felt wounded. The pain in his chest was still raw and he was worried that he was going to say something to Hermione.

"Why?"

Abraxas grinned at his friend. "Nothing really. We just need a chat."

Severus looked dubious but didn't question it. Abraxas was strange and had odd methods to get what he wanted.

"I'll see you later!" Abraxas said over his shoulder as he walked away.

His best friend was left standing there on his own wondering if he should call Abraxas back before he destroyed the friendship between him and Hermione.

* * *

><p>"Hermione!" Abraxas called as he spotted her coming out of the library with Sirius.<p>

"Oh hi Abs." Hermione smiled and walked towards him.

He halted. "Abs?" he said wondrously.

"Yeah." Hermione smiled prettily, "It's quicker than saying your full name in case I need to yell at you."

"I like it." he grinned before putting on a serious expression. "We need to talk."

"Sure. Let's go _Abs._" Sirius said sarcastically. He was having a wonderful evening with Hermione and this ferret had to come and ruin it.

"Alone." Abraxas snarled. _I hate that mutt! _

"It's ok Sirius, I'll see you later in the common room." Hermione gently said. Sirius had been acting possessive lately and she didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She hated losing friends. Maybe because in the past they became so hard to come by.

Sirius scowled but let her leave with Abraxas.

Abraxas pulled Hermione into the first abandoned room he could find and put every ward he could think of around them. "Darling, talk to your Auntie Abs."

Hermione looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about your little crush." he grinned. He had to make sure that the conversation was light hearted for when he showed Severus later.

"I-I don't know what you mean." she said defiantly. Her little chin was thrust up but panic was rife in her eyes.

"I think you do. So what were you doing lying under that mutt before?" Abraxas said.

Hermione blushed a dark red and looked away. "I don't like him that way." she said sadly. Sirius was one of the sweetest, funniest guys she had ever known but he could never compare to Severus and she was sad that she couldn't reciprocate Sirius' feelings. _I don't want to hurt him._

"Are you sure?" Abraxas eyed warily.

"Yes. I'm positive!" she shouted frustrated "You know perfectly well that I like Se-" she clasped a hand around her mouth. She couldn't say it yet. The feelings were too new and strange. It was like a buzzing in her brain, a glow in her heart. Yet it only happened when she thought of Severus. But they had no future! Hermione was in turmoil.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that name." Abraxas smirked.

"I can't! Nothing can happen." Hermione cried.

Immediately Abraxas' face dropped. "Why?"

Hermione quickly tried to think of another way of explaining that she had to return to the future.

"I have to back to Ireland." she whispered miserably. She hated secrets!

Abraxas gazed down at her sadly. "What's better Hermione? Never experiencing love or having the purest love for a short while so you get to carry it for the rest of your days?"

A tear fell from Hermione's eye as she stared at Abraxas. Soon she snapped out of it and poked him in the stomach.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"When did you get so mushy?" Hermione grinned.

"It must be the love around me." he smirked back. "Now tell me, who do you loooove?" he said childishly.

Hermione tried to scowl but couldn't stop the tug at her lips.

Abraxas did the puppy dog eyes and his lower lip trembled.

"Melin damn you Abraxas! It's Severus! Ok! Happy now?" she grinned but felt shaky inside. She could finally say it. _I love... Severus Snape._ _Wow! I love Severus Snape! _What would Harry say if he saw her now?

"Yay!" Abraxas laughed and hugged Hermione. "Now, I'll take you back to the common room."

"Thanks Abraxas." She pecked him on the cheek and linking arms they skipped their way to the gryffindor common room.

* * *

><p>Severus was brooding. Abraxas had been gone ages and it was nearing curfew.<p>

The door banged open to his chambers (Slytherins get their own bedrooms). "You, my friend, should kiss me."

Severus stared at Abraxas incredulously before scowling. "You are disgusting."

Abraxas pouted before perching on the side of the bed that Severus was laying on. "Perform legilimens on me."

Severus was instantly suspicious. "Why?"

"You'll see." Abraxas laughed manically before gesturing to his head. "Come on!"

Shaking his head, Severus whispered legilimens to see what Abraxas was on about.

_**"Now tell me, who do you loooove?" Abraxas said childishly.**_

_**Hermione was scowling. her pink cheeks making her eyes sparkle.**_

_Wait, love? Severus didn't want to see this. He didn't want to see her proclaim her love for the dog. When he tried to back out of his friends mind he found that he couldn't. Eyes wide he watched as Abraxas did his famous puppy dog expression to get what he wanted._

_Finally Hermione gave in._

_**"Melin damn you Abraxas! It's Severus! Ok! Happy now?" she said despairingly whilst grinning.**_

_Severus felt his world turn over. She loves me? She... loves me? She loves me! SHE LOVES ME!_

Severus felt a pull and was instantly back into his own mind. He couldn't stop the grin forming on his face. "She loves me." he whispered. A thought made him scowl however. "What about the dog?"

Abraxas waved his hand as if it was a pointless question. "She told me she didn't like him that way." He smiled at his friend. Finally he could stop being depressed and have some fun.

"Now, let's get some sleep. I'm tired after you invaded my brain." Abraxas said snootily.

"I didn't invade it! You told me to!" Severus muttered.

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Did not! Tataa!" Abraxas said quickly as he slipped out of the room.

Severus couldn't stop smiling. _She loves me. She loves me. _He felt like dancing. But then immediately rejected that thought. Slytherins do not dance when they are happy.

Pulling the covers around himself, he thought of what he could do to show her that he loved her back.

Both Hermione and Severus had pleasant dreams that night.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N - I am so sorry for not publishing last week but my computer went really weird and wouldn't let me click anything. But it's okay now! Everything is fine. Now I have zero fashion sense so I'm sorry if the outfits are a lil weird... Thankyou for reviewing!  
>Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other character. I only own the plot.<strong>

The next day Severus was still grinning as he and Abraxas made their way to the great hall for breakfast.

"Severus!" Abraxas hissed "Stop grinning! Hermione'll know that I told you and then she'll kill me!"

"Oh ok." Severus said still smiling.

Abraxas looked disgusted at his friend before sweeping into the great hall. Only to see Hermione sat with the gryffindors.

Both boys stopped in their tracks before continuing on to the slytherin table.

Severus was very confused. He saw the memory. She clearly said that she loved him yet she was sat over there with the dog smiling and laughing with him.

Abraxas carefully watched Hermione. Although it seemed that they were flirting it seemed to him that it was only one sided. Obviously Severus hadn't caught that as he was impaling his toast with a spoon.

"Wrong utensil." Abraxas murmured as he watched crumbs fly across the table.

Severus glared at him before taking a sip of coffee.

* * *

><p>At that moment Hermione noticed that her two best friends from slytherin had come in. "Right, I'll see you guys later. I need to go see Severus for a minute. He's behaving rather oddly."<p>

The marauders looked over to where Snivellus was killing a sausage with a spoon.

"Okay Hermione. Be careful though. That spoon looks lethal." Peter joked.

Everyone in gryffindor looked at Peter. Everyone in hufflepuff looked at Peter. Everyone in ravenclaw looked at Peter. The slytherins didn't.

Suddenly the marauders started clapping and soon the rest of the tables expect slytherin joined in.

"My boy's finally grown up." Sirius said tearfully as he hugged his best mate.

"That was brilliant!" James laughed along with Lily.

Remus just smiled and chuckled.

Hermione grinned at Peter and Peter, noticing the attention, blushed to the tips of his ears.

"Oooh! Does our boy have a crush on our Hermione?" James teased.

Hermione raised an eyebrow in his direction before flouncing off to see Severus and Abraxas.

Sirius watched her go. _I need to get her away from Snivellus. But how? _It was then as he looked at the drinks around the table that he thought of the plan. _Perfect._

* * *

><p>"Um, Severus? Are you okay?" Hermione asked worriedly "You seem stressed."<p>

Severus stopped torturing his egg. "I'm perfectly fine." he said through gritted teeth.

Abraxas snorted beside him making his tea almost spill.

Hermione was also not buying it. _Maybe Abraxas told him. And he doesn't feel the same way. _That would explain his grumpy mood. He would have to tell her that he would never feel the same way. Because he's in love with Lily...

For a moment Hermione's eyes filled with tears. _Purest love? Yeah right Abraxas, how could I ever think that anyone would love me back? Ron certainly didn't._ Tears came in force then and she hurriedly made her way out of the hall. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder.

Abraxas glared at Severus. "You idiot!" he snarled before hitting him over the head with a newspaper.

"What?" Severus asked sullenly.

"You made her cry!"

Severus wanted to be in denial yet he saw the sheen of light in her eyes that only appeared when she was near tears. "Merlin dammit!" Severus growled and rushed after Hermione.

"Finally." Abraxas grinned and began eating his breakfast. Who knows what could have happened to his food if Severus was still here.

* * *

><p>Hermione, rushing out of the great hall, knew immediately she had made a mistake. She wasn't supposed to be on her own. The demons might get her whilst she was unguarded. Right now, she couldn't care though. What was the point in anything? Severus didn't love her. She was stuck years into the past and her Newts now would mean nothing in the future. Everything was utterly pointless.<p>

Finding herself on the edge of the Black Lake where it had frozen over she gazed unseeing, hoping that there would be a sign to show what she needed to do now. _Continue on? Woo Severus?_ She smiled at the though of coming in with flowers and chocolate for the bat of the dungeon. _His face would be priceless _she thought sadly.

"Hermione!"

She turned around and was met with the scowling face of Severus Snape.

"What are you doing here all on your own? The demons could be anywhere." he said angrily.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." _Could this mean he cares for me? _Hermione thought hopefully. _No, he only seems me as a friend._

"That's right you weren't thinking. You could've been killed!"

Hermione grew weary with the conversation. Even though it was morning she felt as though she'd been awake for 5 days.

"Sorry." she muttered and walking past him, made her way back to the castle.

"Wait!" Severus shouted as he ran to catch up with her. Pulling on her arm he made her twist around to face him. "I'm sorry." he said.

Dread filled her heart. This was it then. Abraxas had told him and now he was going to say they had no future. She didn't know if she could bear it. Closing her eyes she waited for the words that would splinter her heart. Again.

Severus stood there waiting for her to speak. She stood silently with her head dipping so he couldn't see her face. _What is going on?_ "Um, Hermione. Are you okay?"

Hermione's head shot up._ Abraxas hadn't told him! _She grinned at Severus who was looking very scared at her change of moods. "Everything's great."

Severus nodded slowly before taking a deep breath. _Should I tell her I love her too? _Maybe it was too soon. It was a scary thing to tell someone you loved them even though you know they love you back.

"WillyougotoHogsmeadewithme?" he said quickly.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. That was really fast!" she laughed.

Taking another deep breath, he said "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Hermione stared at him. Seconds went by and she said nothing.

Severus was feeling uncomfortable as she stood staring at him. _What is wrong with her today?_

Meanwhile in Hermione's mind they were doing a dance. _He's asked me to Hogsmeade! He likes me! Wow!_ Realising that she had been silent for awhile she made herself move towards him. "I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you." she smiled happily.

Severus' face softened as he looked into her face. Her eyes were alight and her cheeks were a rosy red.

Deciding to be a bit cheeky, Hermione moved even closer and rose on her tiptoes. Blushing prettily she placed a quick peck on his cheek before linking their arms together to pull him towards the castle.

Severus felt electricity when she had kissed him. Her lips had been so soft against his hard cheek and he blushed.

_Wow, I really hope that this goes further _they both thought whilst sneaking looks at each other.

* * *

><p>High above them, the demons were sat on the rooftop devising a plan.<p>

"This could definitely work to our advantage." Boris said delighted.

"Master will be so pleased. It's been awhile since anyone gave him a pure soul." Doris smirked

"Think of all the money!"

"Think of all the fame! Demons wouldn't be able to look us in the eye for years!"

"We'll try again soon. It's the perfect time for it."

Their evil cackles filled the air and the boys in the bathroom below it grew very worried.

* * *

><p>The Hogsmeade trip was scheduled for the next weekend and both Severus and Hermione were looking forward to it.<p>

Abraxas was despairing that Severus would never stop smiling and Lily was bemused at Hermione's happiness. Abraxas had made Severus wear his customary black but with black jeans and a turtleneck jumper. Lily had made Hermione wear jeans with a sparkly jumper so they stood out.

The day of the trip was fraught with nerves and Severus and Hermione rushed to their meeting places minutes ahead of schedule to see the other one.

"Hi!" Hermione said breathlessly as she hugged Severus.

Severus blushed and hugged her back hard. "Hello to you too."

Smiling shyly, they made their way to Hogsmeade talking about random things and smiling at each other.

"Where do you want to go first?" Severus asked.

"Well Christmas is coming up and I need to get a few things for some people. So Honeydukes first?"

The rest of the day was spent milling through shops. Secretly they both wondered what to get each other and although they couldn't buy it now, they both found the perfect gift to each other.

Walking back towards Hogwarts, Severus was feeling bold and reached for Hermione's hand. Blushing Hermione squeezed his in an act of reassurance and together they walked in silence.

Once they had reached the doors into Hogwarts Hermione spoke. "I had a really good time today Severus." she grinned. It sounded really cliche.

"I had a good time too Hermione." he smiled warmly.

Not knowing what to do next they both stood awkwardly not wanting their time to end.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?" she said quickly.

"You look beautiful." he sighed. It wasn't the right time to proclaim his love but maybe he could show her. Inching forward he placed a pale hand at her chin and gently drew her head up.

Leaning forward their lips were inches from each other.

Then a snowball hit him on the back of the head.

The impact sent snow down his neck and he jumped about trying to get down and out his t-shirt.

"Woo! 50 points!" cried Sirius as he and the marauders started pelting each other and everyone around them with snowballs.

"Idiots." Severus growled before looking at Hermione. She was blushing and looking at the ground. _It was too soon then..._

"I'm sorry." he whispered and moved forward into the castle.

"Severus! You great dummy." she smiled happily at him as she followed him. "Wait!"

Severus stopped and looked towards her.

Blushing she moved towards him and hugged him again.

This time it was more romantic hug and Severus gently placed his arms around her. They stood silently just breathing each other in before simultaneously letting each other go.

"I'll see you tomorrow Severus."

Severus smiled in reply and made his way to the dungeons.

Smiling herself, Hermione ran to gryffindor tower to tell Lily everything.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N - Sorry this is a lil late, I'd just like to say HP is not mine and thanks for reviewing**

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Hermione said happily as she pranced around the girl's gryffindor tower.

Lily beamed at Hermione. She had never seen her this happy before and it was starting to get to her too.

"He almost kissed me!" she screamed and flopped down on her bed, gazing at the swirls on the ceiling.

"Oh my god!" shrieked Lily and bounced so she was lying down next to Hermione. "Tell me everything!"

"It was so romantic." she sighed "His hand was holding onto my chin. Not harshly! He was so gentle and it was as if I was being pulled like a magnet and his lips were getting closer and closer!"

"Yes? Yes? Don't just stop there!" Lily pleaded. She was a huge romantic and Lily felt very tensed for what would happen next.

Hermione then scowled blackly. "Sirius happened."

Immediately Lily's face dropped. It was no secret to the other marauders that Sirius was in love with Hermione, practically the whole school knew! The only person completely oblivious was Hermione which was awful for everyone involved.

"What did he do?" asked Lily uncertainly.

"I'll tell you what he did!" Hermione huffed angrily, "He threw a snowball at the back of Severus' head! Completely ruined the moment. Honestly, if he wasn't my best friend I would've hexed him. Utter disregard-"

Lily let Hermione carry on with her tirade. They usually lasted a while so using the time she digested the information. It was clear to Lily that Sirius knew that Severus liked Hermione yet was unsure of Hermione herself. _Poor Sirius _Lily thought _surely he must know now? They were about to kiss! _

Lily worried whilst Hermione finally went to sleep. Sirius was usually a sweet, funny guy but this recent development might make him a bit more volatile. _This could be bad._

* * *

><p>"That git had his hands all over my Hermione!" Sirius growled as he paced the common room floor, at this rate there would be nothing left of the carpet.<p>

"Calm down mate! You said you wouldn't go near Snivellus for Hermione so stop thinking!" James said in alarm. He could see a glint in Sirius' eyes that he had only seen once before when someone had picked on a little hufflepuff girl. The student who had done it had to be in the infirmary for two weeks afterwards.

"For Hermione. How could she possibly like him? It's a love potion. Please Prongs we have to stop him. Merlin knows what he's doing to her when we're not with her. He's a lunatic." Sirius raved on and on and on.

From Remus' point of view, he thought Sirius was the lunatic yet kept his judgement to himself. Sirius might try anything in his current state of mind.

Unfortunately Peter didn't have the same reasoning.

Peter burst out laughing and seemed to be struggling to breathe as he watched Sirius stop his stalking and fix his cold, grey eyes on his form.

"Why are you laughing?" Sirius asked with a hint of steel.

Sensing his friend's mood, Peter stopped laughing and faced him. "Well if you think she's under a love potion why don't you just brew one right back?"

For a moment all the marauders struggled to get a head around his words before all of their minds clicked at once.

"Of course!" Sirius cried and immediately strode over to Prongs.

"Hey, what are-? Oi!" James shouted out as Sirius reached towards his bum to get the invisibility cloak he was sat on.

Sirius held it up with a flourish before shouting "Thanks Peter!" over his shoulder and running out of the common room.

"Could've just bloody asked." James mumbled grumpily.

Remus and Peter chuckled at him before carrying on with their chess game.

* * *

><p>A week passed and Sirius was hurriedly getting all of the ingredients to create a potion of his own. Hermione was still on cloud 9 as was Severus and it was a rare moment in Hogwarts where you couldn't see one in the company of the other. Suddenly Christmas was upon them the very next day so both were in a rush doing the finishing touches for each others present.<p>

Early Christmas morning Hermione woke up bright and happy and rushed down to the gryffindor common room where the rest of them were eagerly awaiting to open their presents.

"Always late Hermione, tut tut." Remus winked before plucking a mini package meant for him.

Hermione loved all of her gifts. From Lily she got some naughty lingerie (upon which Hermione heavily frowned at her) and a gift card for flourish and blotts. From Remus she got a series of old manual texts based on the themed of time travelling (Hermione looked in shock at Remus before he quietly said that he had seen her reading a lot about them lately). From James a book on how to conquer fear of brooms and other assorted objects. From Peter she got lots of chocolate and sweets (too much chocolate was never a bad thing). Finally from Sirius she got a beautiful heart shaped necklace which had a ruby dazzling in the centre.

Hermione was incredibly touched by the gift and quickly got up from her place off the sofa and ran up to Sirius. "Thank you!" she said joyfully before reaching up to peck him on the cheek.

Instantly Sirius flushed red and stammered that it was nothing.

"Have I stopped the big bad dog from talking?" she teased.

Sirius growled before heaving her onto his shoulder and taking her to the great hall.

Hermione merely flopped. It wasn't the first time he had done this and it would certainly not be the last.

"The rest of you coming?" Sirius called.

"We're gonna get changed first." Lily smirked before disappearing.

At Lily's comment, Hermione tried to look at what she was wearing. _Oh no! _she thought, horrified, she was wearing the pyjama bottoms with mini kisses splattered everywhere with bold writing on her bottom which said Spank Me If You Can. Her top was alright by anyone's standards as it was only a white tank top. She prayed to anyone who would listen to make sure that it wasn't cold in the great hall. She started fighting again in earnest as they moved closer before she gave up and tried to hide her face.

"Hi Hermione."

Looking up she saw Abraxas and Severus staring at her. Abraxas was looking at her gleefully whilst Severus looked concerned and appalled. Sirius said nothing and just continued. Abraxas and Severus were forced to follow but they looked uncomfortable.

"Hi guys." she said cheerfully. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas." They both replied back before continuing to stare at her. The way to the great hall was awkward as Severus and Abraxas would just stare at her and she was stuck staring at everything around them.

Finally Severus decided to break the silence. "Would you like some help?" he asked.

"No, she wouldn't." Sirius said before she could say anything and increased his pace.

Hermione snarled at him before shouting out that she'd see the slytherins at the great hall.

* * *

><p>Hermione was grumbling under her breath as she glared at Sirius from the slytherin table. She knew that she was the only one on the table but right now, she was waiting to give Severus and Abraxas their presents. Fortunately she had grabbed them before Sirius had nabbed her and had shrank them so they would fit in the small of her hand.<p>

"Ahem."

Gazing up she was met with the blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore. Blushing she said "Merry Christmas, sir."

"And to you, Miss Granger. I merely wish to ask as to whether you have seen any demons?" he asked concernedly.

"No, sir. It seems strange." she said thoughtfully. When she thought about it, demons usually attack frequently yet it had been weeks since her last attack.

"Constant vigilance." he wisely said before heading to the head's table.

"Boo!"

Hermione fought the urge to scream and glared at Abraxas behind her. "That wasn't nice."

"I know but you love me anyway." he said jokingly before sitting down next to her.

Severus took the opposite side so he could see her reaction to her present.

"Here are your gifts." Hermione said and placed them on the table.

"Here are yours." the slytherins chimed together and, like her, put them on the table.

Hermione picked up the present from Abraxas first. When she opened it she saw that it was a scary with various swirls and patterns covered all over it.

"It also works as a protection charm." Abraxas said "It lets us know when you're in trouble so we can come rushing!" he said charmingly.

Hermione beamed and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

Next she picked up Severus'. She couldn't help the way her heart jumped when she placed it on her lap. With careful fingers she undid the bow before gently unwrapping it and gasped at what was inside. Inside was an adorable kitten. It's fur was halfway between fluffy and sleek - a bit like herself really, and the only white spots found on her were covering both of her eyes and a white tipped tail.

"Oh my." Hermione said in wonder and picked her up. "Aren't you the cutest thing?" she cooed at her. "I'm going to name you Domino."

Domino was purring affectionately at Hermione and without delay, started snoozing on her lap.

"You are amazing." she said directly to Severus.

Severus blushed under her gaze and dropped his own to the present she had gotten him. It was a pair of socks. But not ordinary pairs of socks. These ones were magical. They had a heating charm which meant that his toes would never be cold. But that wasn't it. Throughout his life Severus had never been given anything homemade. He had never received a gift from anyone which had been made themselves, not a valentines card made by paper nor a fleece made by Mama Snape.

Severus felt himself fall even harder for Hermione so when she quietly settled next to him he blushed and looked away.

"Severus."

He refused to look.

"Severus."

_No!_

"Severus!"

Severus was poked in the stomach and without thinking looked up. She was so close to him. Virtually lying on his chest.

"Thank you." she said quietly and kissed him on the cheek as well.

Severus blushed even harder and mumbled that it was nothing.

Abraxas was humming the tune 'Love is in the Air' and Severus quickly dealt with it by elbowing him. This again caused a thwack war.


End file.
